A major TV news channel owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal will go on air at the end of 2012 but its location has not been decided yet.
Addressing reporters in Riyadh on Tuesday, the Prince said the 24-hour Al Arab service would be dedicated to Arab-speaking viewers worldwide and would broadcast news programmes and features focusing on politics and business.
“Alarab news channel, to be managed by Jamal A. Khashoggi, a well-known Saudi journalist, will be an independent venture ,” he said.
The Prince, a member of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family, said the channel would focus editorially on the important shifts taking place across the Arab World, adding that the emphasis would be on freedom of speech and press.
“The channel will uphold the principles of free transfer of information as well as objective, balanced and credible reporting.” He said an agreement had been signed with Bloomberg new service to produce business news content for the channel.
Prince Al-Waleed said the location of Alarab’s headquarters and main broadcast center has not yet been decided. But he added that Manama, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Beirut are among the cities being considered. “The news channel will cover the latest developments around the world and will also highlight political, social and economic issues in Saudi Arabia and the Arab World…the Arab world is interested in the fields of business, employment, economic development, and is focused on prosperity and growth,” he said.
“Our alliance with Bloomberg and its credible source of financial and economic data, together with its extensive media experience, will provide the Alarab news channel with a strong and comprehensive economic platform to accurately cover Saudi Arabia, and the rest of the Arab World,” he added.The 24-hour broadcast channel, one the cards for two years, will be headed by Khashoggi, former editor in chief of the Saudi Arabic language daily 'Al Watan'.
The new channel will compete with Qatar-based Al-Jazeera and the Saudi-controlled Al-Arabiya based in Dubai.
Khashoggi was also media adviser to Prince Turki Al-Faisal at Saudi embassies in London and Washington, and has been known as a correspondent and writer since graduating from the University of the State of Indiana in 1982.
Prince Alwaleed has a strong presence and influence in media through his investments in media and entertainment in the Arab world and beyond like the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, News Corporation and Rotana Holding.