El Mehwar The Mercurial

The possibility of the privatization or de-monopolization of television in Egypt has been much debated as the country makes steady steps towards a market economy. The year 2002 saw a more liberal government policy, enabling private ownership of satellite television stations and thus exhibiting a new tolerance and accommodation of …

Read More »

ANN: Satellite on a Shoestring

In 2000, ANN (Arab News Network) correspondent in Cairo Ahmed Ezz Eldin was eager to attend the Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit but his management did not assign him to cover the story because of financial constraints. Despite this, says Ezz Eldin, he insisted on going and paid for the …

Read More »

Should We Talk To The Enemy?

This is a presentation prepared for the Arab Satellite Television Broadcasting conference in Cambridge, UK, in November 2002. It is presented in its preliminary form for the benefit of TBS readers, and not as finished research. In 1940 Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess landed in Scotland to negotiate peace with prime …

Read More »

“Arab Satellite Broadcasting in the Age of Globalization”

Papers from the Cambridge conference.    Nineteen Mass Communication scholars and leading Arab professional broadcasters gathered for three days in Cambridge, UK, to consider the issue of "Furthering Integration and Enhancing Fragmentation in the Arab World." The conference was sponsored by the Center of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (CMEIS) …

Read More »

Orbit Announces New Channels and Services

Hamid Ouddane, Electronic Program Guide leader at Orbit's Broadcast Operations & Technology department in Rome, thinks the world of Orbit's new STBs and heralds a "new era" of interactive services. In recent press releases, Orbit Television & Radio Network, one of the main players in the Pay TV arena in …

Read More »