Al Arabiya facts for kids
Logo used since 2020
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| Country | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Arabic |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Parent | MBC Group |
| Sister channels |
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| History | |
| Launched | 3 March 2003 |
Al Arabiya (Arabic: العربية, transliterated: al-ʿArabiyyah; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One" ) is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group.
The channel is a flagship of the media conglomerate and is therefore the only single offering to carry the name as simply "Al Arabiya" in its branding.
History
Launched on 3 March 2003, Al Arabiya is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates. An early funder, the production company Middle East News (then headed by Ali Al-Hedeithy), said the goal was to provide "a balanced and less provocative" alternative to Al Jazeera.
A free-to-air channel, Al Arabiya broadcasts standard newscasts every hour, as well as talk shows and documentaries. It has been rated among the top pan-Arab stations by Middle East audiences. The news organization's website is accessible in Arabic, English, Urdu, and Persian.
On 26 January 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama gave his first formal interview as president to Al Arabiya, delivering the message to the Muslim world that "Americans are not your enemy," while also reiterating that "Israel is a strong ally of the United States" and that they "will not stop being a strong ally of the United States".
In March 2012, the channel launched a new channel, Al-Hadath, which focused on political news.
Mamdouh Al-Muhaini became general manager of the Al Arabiya Network in October 2019, succeeding former manager Nabil Al-Khatib.
On 24 April 2020, Al Arabiya introduced a new graphics and audio package, new studios, and a new modified logo in the network's first major rebrand since its launch in 2003. The following year, the network moved operations from Dubai to Riyadh, with the stated goal being to "produce 12 hours of news programming from the Saudi capital by early January". The move came amid orders by the Saudi government to multinational companies to move their regional hubs to the kingdom by 2024.
Content and competition
As a response to Al Jazeera's critical coverage of the Saudi royal family throughout the 1990s, relatives of the Saudi royal family established Al Arabiya in Dubai in 2002. Al Arabiya was said to be the second most frequently watched channel after Al Jazeera in Saudi Arabia. In 2008, The New York Times described the channel as working "to cure Arab television of its penchant for radical politics and violence".
In 2012, Al Arabiya broadcast the email messages of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad that were leaked by opposition hackers.
Programming
- Special Mission is Al Arabiya's longest-running investigative journalism/current affairs television program. It broadcasts on the Al Arabiya Pan Arab Channel based in Dubai. Premiering on 19 October 2003, it is still running. The program is based on the investigative Panorama concept, addressing an issue each week, by showing a locally produced program or a relevant documentary. The program is centered around topics like politics, economy, or religion. In 2023, the Special Mission received a gold Telly award at the 44th Annual Telly Awards.
- Eda'at (Arabic: إضاءات, meaning "Spotlights"), hosted by Turki Al-Dakhil, aired every Thursday at 2:00 PM (Saudi Arabia time) and lasts one hour. The show consists of one-on-one interviews with influential regional figures, such as journalists, writers, activists, politicians, etc.
- Rawafed (Arabic: روافد, meaning "Affluents") is directed and hosted by Ahmad Ali El Zein, and broadcast once a week (Wednesday at 5:30 PM). Rawafed is a series of documentaries/interviews about arts and culture. Guests have included writers Tahar Ben Jelloun, Gamal El-Ghitani, poets Adunis, Ahmed Fouad Negm, Joumana Haddad, musicians, Marcel Khalifa, Naseer Shamma. Many key principle artists, writers and politicians in the Arab world have also appeared on the show.
- From Iraq is a socio-political, humanitarian program which strives to uncover the realities inside of Iraq. The program is broadcast Sundays and presented by Mayssoun Noueihed.
- Inside Iran is a series which focuses on investigative reporting, primarily on political, social, and economic issues inside Iran.
- Death Making is a weekly broadcast which airs Fridays, focusing on global terror. The show provides analysis on global terror attacks around the globe, and discusses religious, social, economic, and political factors. It also provides interviews with well-known figures. It is hosted by Mohammed Altoumaihi.
- Business Profiles is a monthly program which provides an in-depth portrait of regional business leaders. The program typically follows an influential business person, including outside of their office, in order to better understand their ways of thinking. It is presented by Fatima Zahra Daoui, and has been on air since June 2013.
- Point of Order is a weekly program, broadcast on Fridays, which conducts live interviews focusing on socio-political topics. It features controversial figures, such as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, and others. It is hosted by Hasan Muawad.
- Political Memoirs is a weekly program that discusses historical events from various points of view. It is presented by Taher Barake, and is broadcast on Fridays.
- Diplomatic Avenues is a monthly program focusing on the United Nations. It is broadcast live from Al Arabiya's studios in the United Nations headquarters, and features interviews with high-level UN officials and diplomats. The program focuses on political, social, scientific, and humanitarian issues before the UN, with an emphasis on the Arab and Islamic worlds. It is hosted by Talal al-Haj, and broadcasts on the last Friday of each month.
- Studio Beirut is a weekly discussion program, broadcast on Sundays, which features prominent guests from the Arab world. It is hosted by Giselle Khoury.
- The Big Screen is a weekly program which focuses on the film industry, and serves as an entertainment show, discussing celebrities and film. It provides coverage on industry news, upcoming films, film festivals, and interviews with industry leaders, as well as celebrities. It is hosted by Nadine Kirresh.
Investment and ownership
Al Arabiya was founded through investment by the Middle East Broadcasting Center, as well as other investors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Persian Gulf states. Through MBC, Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahd and his maternal uncle Waleed bin Ibrahim al Ibrahim have partial ownership of Al Arabiya.
Distribution
In March 2022, Al Arabiya acquired its own Freeview channel in the United Kingdom, after being available on Freeview via the Vision TV streaming service, with both channels being available on Freeview channel 273.
Online
The Al Arabiya internet news service website was launched February 2004. The website initially published in Arabic, and was joined by an English-language service in 2007 and Persian and Urdu services in 2008. The channel also operates a business website that covers financial news and market data from the Middle East in Arabic. Al Arabiya streams online on JumpTV and Livestation. The English website of Al Arabiya was relaunched in 2013 and now features automated subtitles of the news and programs that appear on the channel.
The Al Arabiya website experienced technical difficulties during the Egyptian protests at the end of January 2011. The site went offline with error messages as such as the following: "The website is down due to the heavy traffic to follow up with the Egyptian crisis and it will be back within three hours (Time of message: 11GMT)".
