According to Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Arab Media Summit Organising Committee, the English speaking Arab station would not be feasible because at present most of the TV stations already up and running are losing a battle against rising costs and overheads.
"There are already around 60 TV channels in the Arab world and the amount of money lost every year is a staggering $ 800 million.
In the West they have a cable system, whereas here we rely on dish antennas, which give us more option to chose the channel of our choice. They don't have that in the West, and the cable system limits the number of channels that can be viewed."
To create and run such a channel, hundreds of millions of dollars are required, and there are other ways to get the same idea through at a fraction of this cost, he said.
Giving an idea of alternatives, Al Gergawi said: "More conferences on Arab issues should be held in the West and speakers presenting their views on Arab issues should be supported."
He said civil rights and Western-based Arab organisations and think tanks should be supported financially, so that they can be more active in reflecting the Arab side of the story.
