This article first appeared in the May 2000 bulletin of the Society Suisse Moyen Orient et Civilisation Islamique and is republished with the Society's kind permission. Dr. Naomi Sakr is a Research Associate of the University of Westminster in the UK. She specializes in aspects of media development in the …
Read More »Egyptian Media Waxes and Wanes in Its Attacks Against Al-Jazeera
CAIRO: When some of Al-Jazeera's commentators and talk show guests from Islamist and other Arab radical ranks criticized the Sharm al-Sheikh summit hosted by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak as a failure, or worse, as "a shameful betrayal of the Palestinians" and their Intifada al-Aqsa, the honeymoon that had begun last …
Read More »A dialogue with Mohammed Jasim Al-Ali Managing Director, Al-Jazeera
TBS Senior Editor S. Abdallah Schleifer initially spoke with Al-Ali in Cairo about the development, philosophy, and new plans of the region's hottest, most controversial channel. With recent developments that have clouded relations between Al-Jazeera and Egypt, Schleifer and Al-Ali renewed the dialogue S. Abdallah Schleifer: Al-Jazeera has an approach …
Read More »Pan-Arab Satellite Television: Now the Survival Part
The second half of the 1990s saw advertisers queuing up to buy tickets to watch the pan-Arab satellite channels sprinting towards mass audiences across the GCC markets. The Arab general public responded in kind, especially in the more affluent states, where satellite dishes are found in every fourth home. The satellite …
Read More »Transnational Television and Asymmetrical Interdependence in the Arab World: The Growing Influence of the Lebanese Satellite Broadcasters
In spite of its small size, Lebanon is a major player in transnational satellite television in the Arab world, so broadcasters and researchers alike are wondering about the implications of the return of Rafik al-Hariri to power. Hariri, appointed prime minister shortly before the publication of this issue of TBS, …
Read More »Khalid Abu Nuwar, General Manager, MultiChoice Egypt
Sarah Sullivan: How is the relationship of MultiChoice Egypt to CNE, and to ART and Showtime, structured? Khalid Abu Nuwar: We specialize in different areas of the business. There's ART and Showtime as bouquet providers, CNE and NCN as pay-TV license holders for distribution in Egypt, and we work under their auspices …
Read More »Abdel Rahman Hafez, chairman of the board of CNE and chairman of ERTU
S. Abdallah Schleifer: Is CNE seriously considering a move from the VHF analog retransmission that's now offered to CNE terrestrial customers to digital terrestrial? Abdel Rahman Hafez: Up to now we have not committed because of the expenses, and above all because of the price of the digital receiver, the decoders that …
Read More »The Secret of CNE’s Success
CNE (Cable Network Egypt), after a long and troubling trip through the startup tunnel, has now emerged into the proverbial light that beckons those still stuck in there. To fill in that success story and find out where CNE is going now that it is in the financial clear, Senior …
Read More »The Media Free Zone: An Egyptian Media Production City Finesse
The Egyptian Media Production City (EMPC), inaugurated five years ago, was envisioned to be the "Hollywood of the East." This ultimate "producers' paradise" is located at Sixth of October City, 10 km from the pyramids of Giza and 30 km from downtown Cairo, and occupies an area of two million square …
Read More »Peter Einstein CEO, Gulf DTH/Showtime
EPGs, the Internet, MTV Mashaweer, exclusive sports, and more movies than ever...Showtime is bringing a full range of "value added" services and programs to its Middle East subscribers. TBS: The expansion in talent and locations for MTV, meaning the new presenters from Cario and Beirut for the Mashaweer program, should prove …
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