THE BBC IN THE ARAB WORLD
BBC Arabic: an integrated multimedia offer
BBC Arabic is the BBC’s integrated news and information service for the Arab world. It is available on air and on demand 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is designed to reach audiences on radio, television, the internet, mobiles and handheld computers in whatever way best suits the audience.
BBC Arabic is both the largest and the most established of the BBC’s non-English language services. Launched on 3 January 1938, it has evolved into the Arab world’s leading international broadcaster. It covers the political, social and cultural issues that matter to its diverse audiences in the Arab world and across the world. With its new TV presence, BBC Arabic is bringing the world to Arab audiences – reporting the news wherever it leads.
BBC Arabic is renowned for broadcasting impartial and accurate news and information which is strong on analysis and expertise. This enhanced service continues in that tradition, putting the audience’s needs and concerns at the heart of its agenda. It is contemporary in its style and independent and penetrating in its journalism.
Independent research shows that the BBC’s existing Arab audiences regard it as the most trusted, impartial and objective international radio news provider in the Arab world, with an established reputation for quality. BBC Arabic’s award-winning 24/7 online news and information service, bbcarabic.com, also enjoys high levels of trust in its content.
BBC Arabic’s commitment to involve audiences in its output through interactive formats on all platforms already fosters informed discussion and debate. With the advent of TV, BBC Arabic’s ability to expand this ambition will further showcase the widest range of views and opinion on the big issues of the day and offer extra opportunities for audiences to participate widely themselves.
While programmes are produced from studios in London and Cairo, the key to the BBC’s coverage of the Middle East and world events lies in its vast network of correspondents. BBC Arabic has its own correspondents in key locations in the region and international capitals.
It also draws upon the BBC's unmatched newsgathering resources across the world, with eye-witness reportage and expert analysis from 250 correspondents in 72 bureaux.
Working alongside the BBC’s international network there are also BBC Arabic journalists in Europe, including Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, as well as Canada, China and the US.
BBC Arabic on television
As the BBC’s first publicly funded international television service, BBC Arabic television is broadcast all day, every day, and is freely available to everyone with a satellite or cable connection in the region, whether they are in North Africa, the Middle East or the Gulf. It is distributed free to air by Arabsat, Eutelsat and Nilesat satellite systems:
Arabsat Badr4, 26 East, transponder 15, 11,996 MHz horizontal polarisation
Eutelsat Hotbird 8, 13 East, transponder 50, 11,727MHz vertical polarisation
Nilesat 102, 7 West, transponder 26, 12,207MHz vertical polarisation
BBC Arabic is also available on Channel 41 of the E Vision cable platform in the UAE, Econet and Cablevision in Lebanon and the EchoStar DISH Network in the US.
Programme highlights include:
News bulletins on BBC Arabic report the news breaking around the region and around the world with headlines of the key stories and news summaries every 30 minutes on the hour and half-hour.
Al Alam Hatha Al Masaa and Hassad Alyoum Alekhbary (Newshour) are BBC Arabic’s flagship daily news programmes. Broadcast at 18.00 GMT (Al Alam Hatha Al Masaa) and 20.00 GMT (Hassad Alyoum Alekhbary), each edition is an hour of news, analysis, background reports, key interviews and debate on the top events making the news in the region and around the world that day.
Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point) is the pioneering live multimedia interactive debating forum that gets to the heart of the matter of a single issue each edition. Authoritative but informal in tone, it generates passionate, lively, free-flowing debate across the whole of the Arab world. It uses phone calls, emails, text messages, blogs, pictures and professionally shot pre-recorded vox-pops in key cities as well as 3G and webcam contributions. Multicast on BBC Arabic television and radio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 15.06 GMT, it then continues on radio for 30 minutes.
Agenda Maftouha (Open Agenda) is an in-depth exploration of a single issue, delving beneath the headlines to examine the undercurrents behind the headlines, and bring a wide range of perspectives to the issue at hand. It is broadcast on Fridays at 19.10 GMT, repeated on Saturdays at 13.10 GMT.
Lajnat Taqqasi Al Haqqaeq (The Fact-Finding Commission) is a panel of independent people who get to the heart of the matter by investigating topical social, political and economic issues. Linked from London, the programme is recorded on locations around the region. It is broadcast on Tuesdays at 19.10 GMT, repeated on Wednesdays at 13.10 GMT.
Fiassameem (To the Point) is a hard-hitting one-to-one interview news programme, asking difficult questions of the personalities behind the stories that make the news. The half-hour interview is the result of detailed research and in-depth investigations. It is broadcast on Mondays at 19.20 GMT, repeated on Tuesdays at 13.20 GMT.
Wathaiqiat (Documentaries) are the BBC’s world-renowned scientific, political and cultural documentary programmes, exploring re-versioned for Arabic-speaking viewers. Broadcast on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 19.10 GMT.
BBC Arabic on radio and online
While a significant amount of radio listening by Arabic-speakers to the BBC is via shortwave and medium wave, BBC Arabic is increasingly available on FM across the region – via 24-hour BBC FM relay stations and via partner radio stations.
BBC Arabic radio is also distributed by satellite systems: Nilesat, Arabsat, and on Sky BBC World Service Extra in the UK.
The BBC Arabic flagship radio news programme, Al-alam hatha al-sabah (The World This Morning), sets the day’s agenda, seven days a week, from 03.00 to 10.00 GMT.
Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point) is the place for Arabic-speakers across the world to exchange opinions and share views. Multicast on radio and television three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 15.06 GMT, the programme brings to the wider audiences individual experiences from across the region.
BBC Arabic helps audiences get an in-depth understanding of international developments with the daily mini-series - four-minute radio documentaries which highlight issues in the news, offering background expertise and information.
BBC Arabic further reinforces its pan-Arab presence by moving its teams – and dedicating a day’s output - to various regional countries. The Mauritania Day, Kuwait Day, Darfur Day, Yemen Day and a host of Iraq Days brought issues important to audiences in these countries and regions into the pan-Arab focus. During the war between Israel and Hezbollah, 33 consecutive days of programming from Lebanon and Israel ensured up-to-the-minute coverage of the dramatic events.
The daily radio magazine programme, BBCXtra, goes beyond the political news agenda, covering stories ranging from entertainment, showbiz and sports to hard-hitting societal issues. It is a two-hour programme, with the first edition broadcast at 10.00 GMT and the second - at 12.00 GMT.
The award-winning website, bbcarabic.com, is updated around the clock to bring the latest news, information and analysis to Arabic-speaking web-users and carries a live audio feed of BBC Arabic radio as well as video content. A pan-Arab forum for vibrant debate and exchange of opinion, bbcarabic.com nourishes citizen journalism, dedicating sign-posted areas to user-generated content.
BBC Arabic on wireless handheld devices
The latest news from BBC Arabic is now available on mobile phones, PDAs and other wireless handheld devices. To access the content, go to bbcarabic.com/mobile on the device browser. Alternatively, text “BBC ARABIC" to +44 7624 882488 to receive a text message containing a link to the site.
BBC Arabic breaking news SMS alerts and video news bulletins are also offered via mobile operators as a subscription service. BBC Arabic radio listeners in the US can access on their mobile or fixed-line phones via AudioNow by dialling 202 481 6881. For detailed information, please visit bbcarabic.com/connect.