Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is under the control and supervision of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority which was established under UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003. From 1976 to 2006 the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) was the sole telephone and telecommunications provider for the UAE. And while there were exceptions for free zones and modern housing developments, for the majority of the UAE, Etisalat held a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. In February 2006, this monopoly became a duopoly when a new telephone company and Internet service provider (ISP), du, was established to offer mobile services across the UAE and Internet and TV services to some free zone areas. However, due to geographical distribution of service areas, the companies do not compete for customers and thus effectively operate as monopolies. Earlier du provided triple play services to free zone areas under the name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which is still its legal name.
Al Arabiya is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group.
Abu Dhabi TV is an Emirates-based television channel that was originally launched in 1969. It broadcasts content from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and is owned by Abu Dhabi Media.
Sun TV is an Indian Tamil-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Sun TV Network. It was launched on 14 April 1993. It is the flagship channel of the Chennai-based media conglomerate Sun Group's Sun TV Network. It was founded and is owned by Kalanithi Maran.
MBC Group, formerly known as Middle East Broadcasting Center, is a Saudi media conglomerate based in the Middle East and North Africa region. Launched in London in 1991, the company moved its headquarters to Dubai in 2002 and to Riyadh in 2022.
The BBC is forbidden under its charter to directly undertake any commercial operations on-air within the United Kingdom; however, no such restriction applies to operations in other countries. Therefore, the BBC exploits its massive television archive by operating a number of commercial television channels outside the UK through its BBC Studios subsidiary.
MBC 4 is a television channel in the Middle East. It was launched on 1 February 2005 at 5:00 P.M. (GMT) and is owned by the Middle East Broadcasting Center. MBC 4 airs international programmes with Arabic language subtitles. Its programming is targeted towards women.
Dubai TV is an Emirati TV channel offered by the Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI). It replaced Emirates Dubai Television on 14 June 2004. Dubai TV broadcasts programmes predominantly in Arabic. The programming caters to family Arab audience specifically in the Arab world and is available in Australia, Europe, North America and the rest of Asia. A majority of its programming is produced locally in Dubai Media City. Dubai TV is a part of a four channel network owned by DMI. High-definition "HD" format is free and available on Nilesat and Yahsat.
Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) is the official media organization of the government of Dubai. It was established in 2003 as a state-owned company comprising a number of print, radio and TV channels under its umbrella, including: Dubai TV, Al Bayan, Dubai One, Dubai Sports, Emirates 24/7, Tawseel and Masar Printing Press. The chairman of the board of directors of DMI, Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the deputy ruler of Dubai.
Dubai is a media hub for the Middle East region and is home to many television and radio channels.
Emirates Dubai Television was a television channel transmitting terrestrially out of Dubai in Arabic targeting the expat community in the U.A.E. It was founded in 1971, following a service that existed between 9 September 1969 and 1972 funded by Kuwait Television. This initial service broadcast to Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, with the majority of the content being sourced from Kuwait, as well as local news bulletins. After the launch of Dubai Television, this service shut down in December 1972. Habib Al-Reda was the director of this first service, who was later appointed as assistant undersecretary in the Ministry of Media and Culture in the Northern Emirates up until 2003, when he died.
Mass media in the United Arab Emirates is subject to government control and censorship. Media freedom is severely curtailed in the UAE. Most UAE media is owned by the government or by groups that have ties to the government. UAE law permits the government to censor content critical of the government. Journalists and writers who criticize the government are subject to repression.
Zee Aflam is an Indian & Pakistani pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Dubai, UAE, which broadcasts movies and television series originally made in Hindi, either subtitled in Arabic, Bollywood films in the Arab world, where the channel shows Hindi films and programs subtitled in Arabic, Pakistani films and programs subtitled in Arabic, and broadcasts around the clock a variety of Bollywood films, including romance, comedy, action and drama, starting from the latest films to the classics.
Studio One is a live daily English-language lifestyle television program that originated from United Arab Emirates and was broadcast on Dubai One to 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It aired from January 2011 to March 2014. Created by the same team that produced Dubai One's popular weekly television program Ask One, Studio One is known for its eclectic mix of lifestyle features and celebrity interviews, interactivity and is primarily aimed at women and families. Season One was hosted by Tom Urquhart and Saba Wahid. At the end of the first season Saba left the show and was replaced by former show reporter Aishwarya Ajit. Studio One has been described as Dubai One's flagship show.
Zee Alwan is a cable satellite television channel based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and owned and operated by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, an Indian media and entertainment company. It majorly airs programmes in Arabic and other regional languages of the South Asia. A part of the Zee Entertainment Enterprises, it started to broadcast on 10 October 2012 as the first Hindi & Urdu language cable & satellite channel in the Middle East.
Television in Saudi Arabia was introduced in 1965, but is now dominated by just five major companies: Middle East Broadcasting Center, SM Enterprise TV, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, Rotana and Saudi TV. Together, they control 80% of the pan-Arab broadcasting market. Saudi Arabia is a major market for pan-Arab satellite and pay-TV. Saudi investors are behind the major networks MBC, which is based in Dubai, and Emirates based OSN. The Saudi government estimated that in 2000 the average Saudi spent 50% to 100% more time watching television than his or her European or US counterpart. On average, 2.7 hours are spent daily watching TV in Saudi Arabia.
Dina Butti is an Egyptian/Canadian TV presenter, content creator and voiceover artist. She is most known as a TV presenter on the United Arab Emirates’ English television channel, Dubai One, where she co-hosted the channel's celebrity program, That's Entertainment, reported for their Expo 2020 Dubai daily live coverage and is currently hosting their evening lifestyle show, DXB Today.
That's Entertainment is an Emirati weekly celebrity gossip television program broadcast on Dubai One in the GCC, MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of western Europe and North America. The program was launched on Dubai One in September 2011. It broadcasts every weekend on both Friday and Saturday.
Orient News was a Syrian media group owned by Syrian businessman, journalist and opposition figure Ghassan Aboud, based in Istanbul, providing news service to the Middle East with a focus on Syria. It ceased to exist on 21 November 2023.
Ajman TV is an Emirati commercial television station broadcasting from the Emirate of Ajman. The channel is owned by Al-Murad Group, who also owns the Ajman Independent Studios and Channel 4 FM.
