Manama: Bahrain is planning to build a media city and to launch a new channel to reach a higher and more diverse number of viewers, its top media official has said.
Shaikh Fawaz Bin Mohammad Al Khalifa, the president of the Information Affairs Authority (IAA), said that Bahrain International Channel would cover large swathes of the world, in addition to the Arab region and the Middle East.
"The new channel will be launched officially within weeks as part of IAA efforts to highlight facts and truths abroad", Shaikh Fawaz said. "It will promote quality programmes and will focus on Bahraini issues," he said.
The IAA has already sealed a deal with Eutelsat for Bahrain International Channel to start broadcasting on Hotbird Satellite, which covers most European countries, the Middle East and North Africa, the Bahrain News Agncy (BNA) reported.
Bahrain Satellite TV currently broadcasts its programmes on both Arabsat and Nilesat. In his meeting with local editors, Shaikh Fawaz said that the IAA would reinforce its outreach to the international community by also appointing more media attaches in the major capitals.
Manama has already appointed attaches in Washington, London, Paris and Brussels. The media city will boost openness and will attract more foreign media and will be an opportunity for the private sector to invest in the media field, he said.
