Arabiya news channel – tended to steer away
from contentious reporting. Entertainment
pays better than news, after all!
REPERCUSSIONS. Undoubtedly, the
biggest name to watch is that of Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal, and how visible he will
now be in 2018 and beyond. He has the largest
amount invested in ‘Western’ businesses
(Twitter, Apple, etc.) and – normally – his
every move is scrutinised and examined.
However, it is also a fact that few of those
investment partners came to his support –
certainly not publicly – during his detention.
Alwaleed-watchers now speculate whether
this lack of support might have future
repercussions.
But while the Saudi authorities generated
plenty of news with its arrests and detentions,
there was also a dramatic move at the end of
November when the appointment of a high-
profile TV host, Dawood Shirian, was made to
head up Saudi Broadcasting Corp.
The state broadcaster itself is famous
– indeed, notorious – for its bland news
coverage and entertainment offerings. Shirian
should certainly shake things up. He was host
for some six years of MBC’s extremely-popular
Eight O’Clock (Al Thamina) show where he
deployed a tough questioning style to Saudi
officials and Ministries, and their policies.
Agence France Press commented that the
8 O’Clock show was tolerated by the Saudi
authorities, which are slowly increasing the
scope of freedom of expression, because it
provided a release valve for public frustration.
Shirian, for example, often ‘empty chaired’
his invited guests who refused to come onto
his show. Time will tell how his appointment
changes the shape of broadcasting in the
Kingdom.
MoU. There’s other news from the kingdom.
For example, Abu Dhabi’s Media Zone
Authority (MZA) says it is now collaborating
with Saudi Arabia’s General Commission
of Audio-visual Media (GCAM) in order to
grow the region’s media sector. A delegation
from the Saudi organisation visited Abu
Dhabi in November 2017 and signed a joint
Memorandum of Understanding to enhance
knowledge and experience sharing to help
grow the regional media sector.
Maryam Eid AlMheiri, CEO of the Media
Zone Authority, said: “At MZA, we actively
support the growth of the region’s media
industry as it contributes significantly to
local GDPs and is a key economic driver in
supporting governments’ diversification
“At MZA, “We actively
support the growth of the
region’s media industry as
it contributes significantly
to local GDPs.” – Maryam
Eid AlMheiri, Abu Dhabi
MZA
efforts. We are proud that MZA’s contribution
to non-oil GDP of Abu Dhabi continues to
grow year on year and that our twofour54
community continues to provide job
opportunities for both Emiratis and residents
of the UAE.”
Redha bin Mohammed Al Haidar, General
Director of GCAM, said: “The media sector
is an exciting and rapidly evolving industry
– rich with opportunities for the youth of
Saudi Arabia to learn, grow, and express
their creativity. At GCAM we’ve been taking
active steps to nurture this industry as per
the National Transformation Program 2020,
which has seen the complete revamping of
the audio-visual media ecosystem. We look
forward to working with the region’s leading
creative hub to share knowledge, best practice,
and expertise that will help us achieve the bold
vision outlined in Vision 2030.”
INFLUENCE. Over the last few years,
twofour54 signed an MoU with the Saudi
Broadcasting Corporation to exchange
knowledge and has hosted delegates for
training. twofour54 has also collaborated with
O3 Productions on a state-of-the-art backlot
in Abu Dhabi, where Saudi drama series can
be filmed.
Eutelsat expanded its growing influence
in the Middle East in October, by buying (for
$75m) Noorsat, a very well-known capacity
re-seller in the region. Noorsat has some 30
transponders under contract at the Nilesat/
Eutelsat ‘hot spot’ at 7/8° West, but also with
capacity co-located with Arabsat at its ‘hot
spot’ at 25/25.5° East. This capacity is used by
Eutelsat on the Es’hail 1 satellite.
Indeed, with significant access to these
two positions Eutelsat is now even more
directly involved in the ever-expanding
Middle East television landscape, which shows
absolutely no signs of contraction. Noorsat
was ultimately owned by the powerful Saudi
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