Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia has announced the launch of a new TV channel this week under the name of Saudi Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) to start at the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Earlier this month, the GCC has launched a $35 billion campaign in an effort to turn into a culture and entertainment hub by 2020.
The new channel aims at attracting young viewers, while its content will include talk show and cooking programmes, films, and other exclusive content, Arabian Business reported, citing French news agency AFP as saying.
"This is a general channel that's seeking to attract the new generation of Saudis”, SBC’s chairman Dawood Shirian said.
About 75% of the channel’s content will be allocated for youth who are between 15 and 35 years old, Shirian added, noting that SBC will keep pace with the changes in the artistic, cultural and entertainment sectors in the kingdom.
Last week, SBC said in a statement that its programming aimed to "keep pace with the spirit of development and renewal launched by the kingdom's Vision 2030” in a bid to boost the spirit of openness and reject extremist thought, AFP added.
SBC will provide Arab and Saudi series, in addition to a series of Egyptian actor Adel Imam.
The new channel will be in a direct competition with major Saudi private networks in the Middle East, including MBC and Rotana.
Shirian further indicated that SBC isn’t “afraid of the weight of competitors” and it “will overtake them quickly.”
To this end, the Saudi broadcasting started a campaign in Dubai with the slogan of “You are forced to love it”.
