By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Authorities in Saudi Arabia has mulled floating an international English-language electronic channel that could compete with Al Jazeera as the kingdom seeks to enlarge its global reach and influence.
The Saudi Research and Media Group had contacted media consultancies to study the feasibility and scope of the venture.
According to Financial Times report, several people familiar with the project said the Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG) had reached out to media consultancies to study the feasibility and scope of the venture.
Though preparations are at an early stage, sources said it would be the second big English-language broadcaster in the Arab world, behind Al Jazeera English.
Al Jazeera English is owned by Al Jazeera Media Network and controlled by neighbouring Gulf state Qatar, which has used its English news channel to help the country raise its profile outside the region.
Funding for the Saudi initiative was likely to be “off the scale”, given the country’s desire to set up a channel that would help “spread the word of Saudi around the world”, Financial Times said, quoting one person said.
The project would only proceed, if it were found to be commercially viable, another person close to the plans stated.
The oil rich Saudi Arabia has grown increasingly confident as it seeks to compete with Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as the Gulf region’s financial hub.
SRMG, which has been linked to the monarch King Salman and was chaired by his sons until 2014, has been expanding in recent years.
The publicly listed company runs 36 titles, including the pan-Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and television channel Asharq News, which has partnered with Bloomberg.
It also has partnerships with the British online newspaper The Independent and operates its Middle East editions.
Saudi Arabia already owns Al Arabiya, an Arabic broadcaster that rivals Al Jazeera Arabic and the UAE’s Sky News Arabia. All of those channels practise censorship and espouse their government’s views.
Media analyst Claire Enders said, “Al Jazeera helped normalise Qatar. Saudi has unlimited resources to invest in a similar media strategy to legitimise their position in the world and help them access people. A news channel is part of a wider multibillion-dollar media strategy.”
