Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle has become the first European TV broadcaster to present news in the Arabic language, launching the service in Kuwait on 28 February.
The three-hour programme is based on two daily news shows, each 26 minutes long. The shows are transmitted via the Nilesat satellite to about 10 million viewers in more than 20 countries from Morocco to Saudi Arabia. Anchorwoman is Dima Tarhini, a Lebanese presenter who previously worked at Al Jazeera.
DW Director-General Erik Bettermann said: “The Arabic-language news further expands the presence of Deutsche Welle in an important market and intensifies our dialogue with the Arab world.” This service is supplemented by magazines with Arabic subtitles and dubbed documentaries. The programme window is supported with special funds from the German Foreign Office.
On 12 January DW had launched its new interactive Arabic web site (www.dw-world.de/arabic). The Arabic language online journalists focus on reporting current events about Germany, Europe and the Middle East. In addition to politics, the arts and business, there is plenty of sports and news from science and technology. Roughly 15 million people in the Arabic-speaking world presently use the Internet, and there is growing demand from Morocco to Saudi Arabia, above all reaching younger people and opinion leaders.
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