The BBC is planning an Arabic-language television channel that will be on the air 24 hours a day throughout the Middle East. Speaking before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK parliament on 22 June, BBC World Service Acting Director Nigel Chapman said the proposed channel’s mix of news, discussion programmes and documentaries would address what he described as “the dramatically changed media landscape in the Middle East”.
The plans have been included in the British Foreign Office’s 2004 Spending Review which goes before the British Treasury for approval. The BBC is seeking an additional 28 million pounds to fund the channel, according to reports in the London ‘Financial Times’. BBC World Service radio is funded by the UK government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office while BBC World television is an entirely commercial venture.
BBC World Service Television ran an Arabic service that was carried on Orbit, the Middle East satellite bouquet, for a number of years until it closed in 1996 following pressure from the Saudi Arabian government.
In February, Al Hurra (the Free One) was launched from the United States, operated by Middle East Television Network, funded through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (a Member of the AIB). The station is an attempt to put across US policy in the Middle East to Arabic-speaking television viewers in the region. Al Jazeera television – also an AIB Member – operating out of Qatar, has gained significant audiences throughout the Gulf region, along with other channels like Al Arabiya – operated by MBC TV in Dubai.