JEDDAH: The Ministry of Culture and Information has denied reports that there are over 25 satellite channels awaiting licenses to broadcast in the Kingdom.
Ministry spokesman Abdul Rahman Al-Hazza said the truth was that an undisclosed number of licenses had been given to established channels from outside Saudi Arabia who were looking to transmit in the country.
"We give licenses to channels as long as they adhere to our bylaws and requirements," he said.
Meanwhile, Commission for Health Specialties Secretary-General Husain Al-Firaihi announced on Monday that the organization would soon start airing the first Saudi medical channel. The channel will serve 300,000 medical professionals and air live medical conferences, seminars, operations and clinical training sessions.
People who prefer to watch important lectures organized by the commission at their offices and homes will still be able to receive accreditation, said Al-Firaihi. The channel, called Pro-med, will target the audience in the Kingdom and the wider Middle East, he added.
Chairman of the Kingdom Holding Company Prince Alwaleed bin Talal told Bloomberg news service that he had plans to establish a news channel to compete with both Al-Jazeera and Al Arabiya.
He added that the channel would be independent from the Rotana group and be supervised by him personally.
Alwaleed said they would brand the company before making an initial public offering within the next two years.
The Ministry of Culture and Information has launched four new channels this year, including Qu'ran, Sunnah, Economy, and Culture, bringing the total number of channels under its control to nine.
By FATIMA SIDIYA
© Arab News 2010
