Media and Arts

Saudi TV to start four new channels, says minister

Four new Saudi television channels are to be launched in the beginning of the next Hijrah year, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja announced this month. The first two channels will be dedicated to the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah and will be broadcast from the two holy cities while the other two will focus on economy and culture. Khoja said the four channels have been planned on the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. "The two channels for the Qur'an and Sunnah are a gift from King Abdullah to the Islamic world," he added. Speaking about the economy channel, Khoja said it would highlight Saudi Arabia's leading position in global economies, being the largest oil producer and exporter. He also noted the importance given by the Kingdom to cultural dialogue. "The new channel for culture will be a venue for academics and intellectuals to air their views on various issues," the minister said.

Egypt puts archives on Web to boost Arabic content

Egypt has begun making its national archives digitally available on the Internet in Arabic, having last month registered the world's first domain name in Arabic script. The initiative to boost use of Arabic on the Web was launched in December following the domain name registration, which opened the Internet to millions of Arabic speakers put off by a language barrier. Analysts say Arabic is just 1 per cent of Web content. Egypt, the first of nine Arab countries to have registered so far, has adopted the domain name .misr -- the Arabic word for Egypt and which will be spelt in Arabic script. Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tarek Kamel said both initiatives are part of the country's push to boost Arabic e-content and broaden access to Arabic speakers.

Saudi's Rotana says News Corp tie-up imminent

Global media giant News Corp is close to buying 10 per cent of Saudi tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's Rotana entertainment group, a senior company official has said. Rotana Media Services president Nezar Nagro made the remarks as he announced a SAR 100 million (US$26.7 million) distribution deal between Rotana Media Group and the Walt Disney Co. "It's 99 per cent finished," Nagro said, adding that the deal could give Rotana -- one of the pan-Arab market's leading satellite broadcasters and film distributors -- a more global reach. "If we join with News Corp, that could also take us outside our region," he said. Rotana owns the largest catalogue of old Arabic movies and serials and also manages popular singers and musicians. According to Nagro, the previously unconfirmed deal could be signed in January and would probably involve News Corp buying 10 per cent of Rotana for an undisclosed price.