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Iraq was home to the first television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernize, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad. Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi state media collapsed. In June 2004, a Communications and Media Commission was set up to approve and grant license for all the country's media. By 2011, Iraq was the headquarters of 49 free-to-air satellite channels, one of the highest numbers in the region. Until 2003, satellite dishes were banned in Iraq, and there was a limited number of national terrestrial stations. After 2003, the sale of satellite dishes surged, and free-to-air channels entered the market. There are 17 terrestrial channels, of which one is funded by the US government through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (Alhurra-Iraq), and seven are owned by the state broadcaster Iraqi Media Network. In March 2011, Al Jazeera was granted rights to resume operations after being banned in 2004. Plans were established to set up a free-media zone based in Baghdad, the Baghdad Media City, by the end of 2014.
Al Arabiya is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group.
Alhurra is a U.S. government-owned Arabic-language satellite TV channel that broadcasts news and current affairs programming to audiences in the Middle East and North Africa. Alhurra is funded by the U.S. government and is barred from broadcasting within the United States itself under the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act.
Al-Manar is a Lebanese satellite television station owned and operated by the political party Hezbollah, broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon. The channel was launched on 4 June 1991 and it is a member of the Arab States Broadcasting Union. The station is considered one of Hezbollah's most important global propaganda tools and reaches around 50 million people.
beIN Sports MENA is a subsidiary of beIN Sports. It is based in Doha, Qatar, serving the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. They are owned by beIN Media Group, a former subsidiary of Al Jazeera Media Network; the sports channels were spun off from Al Jazeera Media Network in December 2013. Following the spin-off, the channels' parent company was incorporated in January 2014 as their holding company. The channels primarily broadcast in Arabic, but it also offers feeds in English, French and Spanish.
Al Jazeera English is a 24-hour English-language news channel. It operates under the ownership of the Al Jazeera Media Network, which, in turn, is funded by the government of Qatar. It is the first global English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Al Jazeera broadcasts in over 150 countries and territories, with a global audience of over 430 million people.
JeemTV, formerly known as Al Jazeera Children's Channel, is a Qatari pay television channel, aimed at kids between 6 and 12 years old. It was previously co-owned by Al Jazeera Media Network and the Qatar Foundation from launch until June 2013 when Al Jazeera fully acquired the channel. It was then acquired by beIN Media Group on April 1, 2016.
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Television in Lebanon arose as a private initiative and not a state-institution. Lebanon was the first country in the Middle East & the Arab world to have indigenous television broadcasting. Various Arab televisions emulated the Lebanese model.
Al Jazeera Media Network is a private-media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and Television Corporation Complex in Wadi Al Sail, Doha that serves as the overarching entity overseeing Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, AJ+ along with a host of other media endeavors that bear the same distinct brand. Originally conceived as a satellite TV channel delivering Arabic news and current affairs, it has since evolved into a multifaceted media network encompassing various platforms such as online, specialized television channels in numerous languages, and more.
Local television is the most significant media platform in Yemen. Given the low literacy rate in the country, television is the main source of news for Yemenis. There are six free-to-air channels currently headquartered in Yemen, of which four are state-owned.
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beIN Sports is a Qatari multinational network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. The network has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef Obaidly.
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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.
In Bahrain, there are seven free-to-air television channels, four of which are privately owned. The country's public service broadcaster, Bahrain Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC), broadcasts over five terrestrial TV networks, including the popular Channel 44. Around 35–40% of its output is locally produced. Free satellite is the dominant television platform, reaching 51% of Bahraini households. The country has a relatively high pay-TV penetration, estimated at 51% in 2011. There are three main pay-TV operators: OSN, ART and Al Jazeera Sports. The government-controlled Information Affairs Authority directly controls BRTC and indirectly controls the country's other television networks.
Television in Egypt is mainly received through free satellite, while analog terrestrial represents 41% of total viewers. The Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) said the average time an Egyptian spends watching television a day is 180 minutes, while Egyptian channels recorded 170,000 hours of broadcast in 2019.
Qatar Television, ; abbreviated as Qatar TV or QTV), is a Qatar Government owned public service national television channel in Qatar which is owned and run by Qatar General Broadcasting and Television Corporation. The channel broadcasts various programmes including news, economical bulletins, documentaries, religious programmes and entertainment.
The mass media in Qatar relays information and data in Qatar by means of television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Qatar has established itself as a leading regional figure in mass media over the past decade. Al Jazeera, a global news network which was established in 1996, has become the foundation of the media sector. The country uses media to brand itself and raise its international profile.
Al Jazeera Arabic is a Qatari state-owned Arabic-language news television network. It is based in Doha and operated by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which also operates Al Jazeera English. It is the largest news network in the Middle East and North Africa region. It was founded in 1996 by the then Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
References
- ↑ Tourya Guaaybess (2013-01-11). National Broadcasting and State Policy in Arab Countries. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 1899–1900. ISBN 978-1-137-25765-9 . Retrieved 2013-06-13.
- ↑ "Qatar Media Sustainability Index 2009" (PDF). IREX. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
- ↑ "Arab Media Outlook 2011-2015" (PDF). 2012. p. 204.
