Middle East Online 18 September, 2004 A group of Iranian and Arab investors announced the launch of the Middle East's first satellite television channel aimed at promoting tourism in the Arab world.
The Arab Tourism Channel will initially start with a four-hour trial broadcast in mid-October from Dubai using the Arabsat 2A satellite, Ali Fahed, director of the channel's office in Beirut, said.
Broadcasts will be lengthened to eight hours a day in December, he said.
"The channel is meant to promote tourism in the Arab world, with programmes on the touristic and cultural wealth of the region. There will be programmes on general tourism, health tourism, cultural tourism, religious tourism," he said.
"The channel will mainly run programmes, talk shows, documentaries and reality TV shows like the ones on the Discovery Channel," he said.
The channel's chairman, director general and main investor is Mohsen al-Saffar, an Iranian businessman who is also chief of the Eurasia media production company.
Other smaller investors include businessmen from Lebanon and Gulf countries, mainly Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The channel, registered in London with a capital of one million pounds (1.79 million dollars), is planning to have offices and correspondents across the Arab world. Non-Arabic-speakers, mainly in Europe and Asia, will at a later stage be able to select English or French audio dubbing through their receivers. |