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.
2M is a Moroccan free-to-air television network. It was established by the royal-owned conglomerate, ONA, before being sold to, in part, the Moroccan government. Of 2M, 45.3% is owned by Bank of Africa, while approximately 32.5% by the Moroccan government, Al Mada (12%), with the remaining shares being owned by Atlas Capital, the Grandson in-law of Othman Benjelloun (10.2%).
MBC Group, formerly known as Middle East Broadcasting Center, is a Saudi state-owned 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 then moved to Riyadh in 2022.
Future Television was a Lebanese free-to-air television station founded in 1993 by the Future Movement leader Rafik Hariri, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon. Future TV was also available via satellite in the Arab World, European Union, United States, Canada, and Australia. Politically, the channel supported the views of the Future Movement. The channel also had a sister channel, Future News, which is also defunct.
Television in Syria was formed in 1960, when Syria and Egypt were part of the United Arab Republic. It broadcast in black and white until 1976. In 1985 a second channel was established and in 1995 Syrian television rented a channel on Arabsat and it started broadcasting eight hours daily via satellite in 1996. Syrian channels are mostly owned and controlled by the Syrian Arab Television and Radio Broadcasting Commission (SATRBC) which is connected to the Ministry of Information. It has 4,800 staff; both government employees and freelancers.
Yemen's Ministry of Information influences the mass media through its control of printing presses, granting of newspaper subsidies, and ownership of the country's only television and radio stations. Yemen has nine government-controlled, 50 independent, and 30 party-affiliated newspapers. There are approximately 90 magazines, 50 percent of which are private, 30 percent government-controlled, and 20 percent party-affiliated. The government controls the content of news broadcasts and edits coverage of televised parliamentary debates.
The National Media Authority, known until 2017 as Egyptian Radio and Television Union, is the public broadcaster of Egypt, operated by the Egyptian government. It is a member of the European Broadcasting Union.
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.
Broadcasting began in Yemen in the 1940s when it was still divided into South by the British and North by Imami ruling system. After the unity of Yemen in 1990, Yemeni government reformed its corporations and founded some additional radio channels which can broadcast locally. However, it drew back after 1994 due to destroyed infrastructures by the civil war. In 1995 it commenced its first TV broadcasting abroad and since then there has been some gradual increase in its radio and television channels most of which belong to the government.
Satellite television varies in the different regions around the world.
Dream TV is an Arabic satellite television channel headquartered in Media Production City, Egypt. Dream TV was the first Egyptian private television channel, and offered two channels on Nilesat: Dream 1 and Dream 2, until 2015. The network provides cultural programming, news analysis, and a platform for talk shows - most notably "10:00 pm" with Mona el-Shazly on Dream 2.
AlHiwar is an Arabic language satellite TV channel broadcasting from London.
Addounia TV was a private television station based in Damascus, Syria since March 23, 2007. The station is described by some western media as "semi-official" and a "mouthpiece of the government." Addounia TV was a sister channel of Sama TV. The channel was shut down in 2015.
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.
Television in Jordan is dominated by pan-Arab satellite, with terrestrial accounting for 16% of TV households in the country. There are 29 free-to-air satellite channels headquartered in Jordan. Pay-TV penetration is low, estimated at 4% in 2011.
Television in Sudan has a low penetration of around 17%, as many households cannot afford the cost of a satellite dish, and terrestrial television is the dominant platform. There are no private terrestrial television stations, and the government operates Sudanese Radio and Television Corporation.
Television in Libya has a penetration estimated at 76% for 2011.
The General Organization of Radio and TV, also known in French as Organisation de la Radio et la Télévision Arabe Syrienne, is the state and public broadcaster in Syria and reports to the Ministry of Information. Earlier names were Radio and Television and Syrian Radio & Television (SRT).
