Iraq’s most watched channel marks anniversary

 

Azzaman, 2005-03-26

 

One year after its founding, Al-Sharqiya satellite channel has become Iraqi households’ most favorite television.

 

Transmitted over three satellites, the channel has created a remarkable niche in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq.

 

Baghdad University polls have shown the channel’s rating soaring and a recent survey saw it grabbing 53% of the highly competitive television market share in the country.

 

The channel’s success is mainly due to its independence and integrity. Unlike its major rivals, Al-Sharqiya is the country’s only independent television that is not associated to any particular group, faction, sect or religion inside or outside Iraq.

The 24-hour news and entertainment channel is beamed from two locations, one in Dubai and the other in Baghdad. It employs 250 reporters, cameramen, editors and administrators.

 

Al-Sharqiya is run by a board of directors that includes the channel’s major investors, who are also contributors in the Azzaman Group which publishes Iraq’s most widely read newspaper, Azzaman.

 

The channel is also transmitted terrestrially over most parts of Iraq and can be seen via satellite all over the country, the Arab World and by Iraqi expatriates in Europe and the Americas.

 

News makes up 11 percent of al-Sharqiya’s 24-hour transmission. Reality programs, documentaries, culture and political analysis feature high in the channel’s television menu.

 

What distinguishes al-Sharqiya from competitors is its focus on the reality of conditions in Iraq. It carries popular concerns right to Iraqis’ living rooms.

 

Al-Sharqiya currently has plans to diversify activities by introducing additional programs and separate sister channels.

 

It also intends to go public by having the channel listed on stock exchanges in a bid to raise its capital.

 

The directors have vowed to turn down offers or contributions from governments, political parties or groups as they strive to maintain the channel’s independence and integrity.

 

Marking the founding anniversary, al-Sharqiya launched a few days ago an interactive site to meet needs of the growing numbers of internet users in the country. The address is: www.alsharqiya.com