(c) BBC Monitoring. Last updated 24 January 2005
Recent Developments
On 18 November 2004 Jalal al-Mashta resigned as head of Iraq's US-funded national network Al-Iraqiyah TV, claiming he had no control over the channel's management and that the budget was being wasted on buying costly foreign programmes while salaries were not being paid. Al-Mashta had been appointed as general director of Al-Iraqiyah in May 2004.
On 10 January 2005 the cabinet-linked Directorate for Communications was reported to be planning to establish a government-run newspaper, radio station and TV station in Iraq, according to Tha'ir al-Naquib, official spokesman for the prime minister and head of the directorate, quoted by independent newspaper Al-Zaman.
The US firm Harris Corporation announced on 20 January 2005 that it had received a three-month, 22m-dollar contract from the Iraqi Media Network for training, programming support, systems integration and deployment work for the IMN. The Iraqi government would pay for the entire contract.
Harris added that in early January 2005 it had completed work on its previous IMN contract, awarded a year earlier.
Regulation
In November 2004 Iraq's media regulator warned news organizations to reflect the government's positions in their reporting on that month's US-led attack in Falluja or face unspecified action. Invoking a 60-day state of emergency declared by Iraq's US-backed interim government ahead of the assault on the city, the Higher Media Council on 11 November demanded that news media distinguish between fighters and residents of Falluja.
The move was interpreted by international media watchdogs as a bid to control news coverage and curb media freedoms.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists commented: "It damages the government's credibility in establishing a free and democratic society."
The International Federation of Journalists said that the Iraqi authorities continued to be intolerant of independent journalism. The IFJ added: "Journalists already struggle to report freely in dangerous conditions. But the atmosphere is made infinitely worse when occupation armies and the authorities try to muscle the media through diktat and arbitrary detention."
The Iraq Media Developments Newsletter (issue 28, 15 December 2004-15 January 2005), published by the London-based Stanhope Centre for Communications Policy Research, included the following report on possible directions for the future regulation of the media in Iraq:
"There has been a loose resolution of the issue of a Higher Media Council and its relationship to the National Communications and Media Commission and the Iraqi Media Network. The reconstituted Council will serve, and is serving, as a senior advisory group that assists in developing policy for the government, that evaluates and assesses performance, that charts new directions, and that helps to identify opportunities. How this will work out in practice depends on the strength of the NCMC and the IMN. The NCMC, with Siyamend Othman as CEO, has recruited a deputy, held training sessions for journalists in preparation for the election, and has been preparing tenders for national channels..."
New Satellite TV Channels in Iraq since 1 September 2004
Al-Anwar (The Lights), a Shi'i satellite channel, was observed on 15 September 2004 broadcasting test transmissions on the Nilesat 102 satellite at 7 degrees west.
Al-Furat (The Euphrates), based in Baghdad, began test transmissions in June 2004. The channel transmits via the Arabsat 2D satellite at 26 degrees east.
Al-Sumariyah (reference to Sumer, an ancient region of southern Mesopotamia in present-day southern Iraq) - This satellite TV channel began broadcasting from Beirut in mid-October 2004, via the Nilesat 101 satellite. Its shareholders are predominantly Iraqi.
New terrestrial TV in Iraq since 1 September 2004
Ashur TV - This terrestrial TV station transmits on UHF channel 45. It is run by the Assyrian Democratic Movement.
New terrestrial radio in Iraq since 1 September 2004
Germany funds election radio programme in Iraq - Since 20 December 2004, a German Federal Foreign Office-funded radio programme has been broadcast in Iraq to provide information on the elections scheduled for 30 January 2005.
Radio
BBC Monitoring can confirm hearing the following broadcasters as of January 2005:
AM stations (all frequencies in kHz)
594 People's (Al-Nas) Radio - 0400-1500
603 Republic of Iraq Radio - southern Iraq
675 Republic of Iraq Radio (parallel with 98.3 MHz) - 0500-1510
756 Information Radio
909 Radio Nahrain (IMN), Basra
999 Radio Bilad (Lands) - 0500-1300
1030 Al-Salam Radio - 0700-1700
1035 Al-Salam Radio - 0700-1700 (alternative to 1030 kHz)
1071 Radio Babil (IMN), Hilla
1116 Dar al-Salam Radio - 0500-1800 (parallel with 1152 kHz and 91.0 MHz)
1152 Dar al-Salam Radio - 0500-1800 (parallel with 1116 kHz and 91.0 MHz)
1179 Voice of Iraq - 0400-1800
1206 Voice of the People of Kurdistan, in Arabic and Kurdish
1305 Al-Mustaqbal Radio (parallel with 95.5 MHz) - 0600-1700
1395 Al-Mustaqbal Radio (frequency in southern Iraq - parallel with 95.5 MHz)
1593 Radio Free Iraq, in Arabic/VoA in English, Kurdish, Persian
FM stations in Baghdad (all frequencies in MHz)
88.0 Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East, in Arabic and French (carries some RFI French newscasts)
88.6 Panorama FM
89.0 BBC World Service, in Arabic
89.5 Turkoman FM
91.0 Dar al-Salam Radio - 0500-1800 (parallel with 1116 and 1152 kHz)
91.5 Radio Rashid - 0300-2300
93.5 Radio France Internationale in French
94.8 Radio Diyala (IMN) - 0400-2100
95.5 Al-Mustaqbal Radio - 0500-1700 (parallel with 1305 kHz)
97.5 Freedom Radio - 0500-2000
97.9 BBC World Service in English
98.3 Republic of Iraq Radio - 0000-2400 (parallel with 675 kHz)
98.8 98.8 FM - 0000-2400 (owned by Channel 4 Radio Network, UAE)
99.4 Ashur Radio, in Arabic and Assyrian - 0610-1700
99.9 Sumer FM - 0000-2400
100.4 Radio Sawa
101.2 Radio Shafaq (Twilight), in Arabic and Kurdish - 1200-1700, repeated 0500- 1000
102.4 Radio Free Iraq (RFE/RL)/VoA in English and Kurdish
104.1 Hot FM in English and Arabic - 0000-2400
105.2 Radio Dijla - 0500-0115
106.0 Al-Salam Radio FM - 0000-2400
106.9 BFBS Radio 1 in English
107.7 AFN-Iraq ("Freedom Radio") in English
FM stations in southern Iraq (all frequencies in MHz)
88.0 BBC World Service in English
88.8 Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East, in Arabic and French
90.0 BBC Arabic Service, Basra
91.6 Voice of the South, Basra
92.8 Al-Nakhil Radio - (the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq)
95.7 Radio Sawa
96.0 Republic of Iraq Radio
102.0 BFBS Radio One
105.0 Radio Free Iraq
106.0 BFBS Radio Two
107.0 Radio Sawa
Republic of Iraq Radio is the successor to Iraqi Media Network-Radio Baghdad, which was operated by the Coalition Provisional Authority. It is currently observed on air in Baghdad round the clock on 98.3 MHz FM, and for a shorter daily period (0500-1510 gmt) on 675 kHz mediumwave. It has also been observed in southern Iraq on 603 kHz.
Radio Dijla - Iraq's first independent talk radio station, Radio Dijla (Tigris Radio) identifies itself as "Radio Dijla from Baghdad, the first independent Iraqi radio". Radio Dijla broadcasts on 105.2 MHz in the FM band in Baghdad, on a slightly variable schedule of 0800-0415 local time (0500-0115 gmt). The station is also available with a live audio stream available from its web site at http://www.radiodijla.com. As far as can be ascertained, Radio Dijla is not available on satellite. The commercial station, which is the first independent talk radio station in Iraq, was founded by Dr Ahmad al-Rikabi, a former London bureau chief of US-funded Radio Free Iraq. After the Coalition war against Iraq in 2003, Rikabi helped to set up Coalition-run radio and TV stations in his role as head of the Iraqi Media Network.
Radio Dijla carries a mix of programming including live phone-in programmes during which callers express their opinions on issue of concern to the Iraqi people and society; interviews; programmes on social issues; and Arab and Iraqi pop songs and entertainment programmes. During phone-in programmes, the announcers say: "Our opinion does not count, but what always counts is your opinion."
According to a feature article in the London newspaper The Guardian on 10 June 2004, the station broadcasts in the local Iraqi dialect and not classical Arabic, and operates from "a modest family house somewhere in a western Baghdad suburb". It receives up to 18,000 calls a day, although it can only answer a fraction of that number. "It has become Baghdad's favourite," the Guardian reported, noting: "Radio Dijla has also become required listening for the country's new authorities."
German foreign ministry funds election radio programme in Iraq
Since 20 December 2004, a German Federal Foreign Office-funded radio programme has been broadcast in Iraq to provide information on the elections scheduled for 30 January 2005. The concept for the radio programme was developed by Anja Wollenberg and Klaas Glenewinkel and it is being produced with the help of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Amman. The Federal Foreign Office is providing 150,000 euro in funding for the project.
A total of 25 young Iraqi journalists make up the editorial team, producing features on the election process at various locations throughout the country. They are intended to give Iraqis from different political parties and ethnic groups an opportunity to be heard. These features are then sent via the internet to Berlin, where a German-Iraqi editorial team produces a 30-minute radio programme based on this audio material. The finished product is then transmitted to Iraq via satellite or the internet, where it is broadcast five days a week on Radio Dijla (in Al-Anbar, Diyala, Babil, Wasit, Salah ad-Din and Baghdad provinces), Voice of Kurdistan (in Dahuk province) and Karbala FM (in Karbala province). The programme is also broadcast via the Hotbird satellite and as audio on demand via the internet (www.electionmonitoriraq.com).
Voice of Iraq was launched in Baghdad in summer 2003, and is currently on the air at 0700-2100 local time (0400-1800 gmt). The station has a web site entirely in Arabic at http://www.voiraq.com, which states that the radio "covers an area with 12 million Iraqi inhabitants". The site adds, among other things: "The Voice of Iraq, which transmits from Baghdad on 1179 kHz, is the first independent radio in Iraq's history. It started transmitting on 15 July 2003 after a month of testing. The founders of the radio wanted the station to be a distinguished media organ in terms of both accuracy and objectivity, broadcasting all news reports and analysing developments in a serious, impartial, professional and unbiased manner.
"The Voice of Iraq presents a wide variety of intellectual talks, field investigations, panel discussions and many programmes on various subjects.
"The radio is eager to safeguard unity and amity among the Iraqi people following decades of attempts to foment sectarianism and practise murder and oppression against the majority of the Iraqi people and the rest of Iraq's citizens.
"The editorial policy of the Voice of Iraq takes great care of the Iraqi people's national unity, encouraging close relations among the various ethnic groups - Arabs, Kurds and Turkomans - who must have equal rights without any form of prejudice.
"The Voice of Iraq is also eager to strengthen relations with neighbouring states and peoples and promote them in a way that would eradicate the harm that the defunct regime's aggression against these states had caused."
Al-Mustaqbal (The Future) Radio - The radio is operated by the Iraqi National Accord movement (INA) and transmits from Baghdad on FM 95.5 MHz and AM 1305 kHz. The radio describes itself as "the voice of the Iraqi National Accord." The INA movement has a web site in English and Arabic at www.wifaq.com.
Al-Salam TV and Radio from Baghdad - The following report headlined "This is Al-Salam television and radio from Al-Kazimiyah city" was published by the Iraqi National Accord newspaper Baghdad on 14 February 2004:
"After the fall of the former regime and the end of the phase of propaganda media and obscuring the voice of others, Al-Salam Television and Radio station was established in Al-Kazimiyah City, in Baghdad, to broadcast programmes that call for love and harmony among the people of Iraq.
"This station also provides people with useful media and reflects the wishes of the people from all ethnic, religious and sectarian affiliation within the framework of democracy and freedom of expression, which they were deprived of under the former regime, without favouritism or taking the side of any sect or religion, and without circulating this or that ideology.
"The television station has started its daily test transmission on Channel 5 from 1600 until 2000.
"This station has an elite range of well-known media figures, including announcer Amal al-Mudarris, director Ali al-Ansari, writer Sabah Ruhaymah, and announcer Samirah Jiyad."
Al-Salam (Peace) Radio is on the air daily at 1000-2000 local time (0700-1700 gmt) 1030 or 1035 kHz mediumwave. It is not known if this station has any connection with a similarly named music station on 106.0 MHz FM, Al-Salam Radio FM.
Dar al-Salam Radio - Dar al-Salam Radio (Haven of Peace) broadcasts from Baghdad and identifies itself as the radio of the Iraqi Islamic Party. The station was first monitored on 24 March 2004. Initial broadcasts focused on the activities of Iraqi Islamic Party leader Mushin Abd al-Hamid and Islamic issues. In its initial broadcasts, Dar al-Salam Radio highlighted the importance of Islam in Iraqi society. The station also aired religious songs.
BBC Monitoring observed a station identifying in Arabic as Dar al-Salam Radio on 91.0 MHz in the FM band at 1400 gmt on 18 September 2004. Programming on this new frequency was in parallel with the mediumwave service on 1152 kHz, first observed in March 2004.
"Telephone FM" is a new radio programme produced in the German capital Berlin by young Iraqis and targeting a youth audience inside Iraq. Since 10 July the 90-minute "Telephone FM" programmes has been five afternoons a week by the Baghdad-based private station Hot FM, which is on 104.1 MHz. As well as reports and interviews conducted by telephone for the most part and then compiled in Berlin, Telephone FM will air a mix of Arabic and mainstream Western music. The project is sponsored by the German Foreign Ministry, which has provided 102,000 dollars in aid.
Ashur Radio was first observed on FM in Baghdad by BBC Monitoring on 24 July 2004. Programmes in Arabic and Assyrian are broadcast at 0910-2000 local time (0610-1700 gmt) on 99.4 MHz FM in Baghdad. Ashur was the ancient capital of the Assyrian Empire, situated on the River Tigris in northern Iraq. A clandestine radio station of this name broadcast on 9155 kHz shortwave prior to the 2003 Iraq war.
Bilad Radio operates on 999 kHz mediumwave in Baghdad. Programming consists entirely of Koranic recitations and the call to prayer. The station is on the air daily at 0800-1600 hours local time (0500-1300 gmt).
British Forces Broadcasting Service
BFBS radio and TV stations are available as follows (all frequencies are in MHz):
BFBS Radio 1
Umm Qasr 106.5
Shaybah 106.5
Basra 106.5
Al-Amarah 106.5
Baghdad 106.9
BFBS Radio 2
Umm Qasr 102.1
Shaybah 102.1
Al-Amarah 87.5
Basra 102.1
BFBS Gurkha Radio
Basra 104.0
BFBS TV is available only via DTH satellite and closed cable systems.
US American Forces Radio
AFN-Iraq has been observed on 107.7 MHz in Baghdad with local programming, identifying on air as "Freedom Radio" and "Freedom Radio 107.7." AFN Radio on 92.3 MHz in Baghdad carries a separate non-local programme stream.
AFN Radio is available on the FM band as follows (all frequencies are in MHz):
Baghdad 92.3 (Voice Channel) & 107.7 (AFN-Iraq/Freedom Radio)
Balad 107.3
Kirkuk 100.1 & 107.3
Mosul 105.1
Quyarrah/Q-West base 93.3
Sinjar 107.9
Tallil 100.1 (Voice Channel) & 107.3 (Bright AC)
Tikrit 93.3
AFN-Iraq has a web site at http://www.afniraq.army.mil.
The following are among stations in operation before April 2003 that continue to be heard inside Iraq:
Voice of the People of Kurdistan, operated by the PUK, currently broadcasts on 1206 kHz mediumwave and 4025 kHz shortwave.
Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan, operated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), currently broadcasts on shortwave 6340 kHz and FM 91.4 MHz (Salah al-Din), 91.5 MHz (Arbil) and 93.3 MHz (Dohuk).
Radio Azadi, Voice of the Communist Party of Iraqi Kurdistan
Voice of the Iraqi People, Voice of the Iraqi Communist Party - The station broadcasts from northern Iraq, possibly using Kurdish facilities.
Radio from Iran in Persian and Arabic, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Egypt and Israel is also heard at times.
Television
TV stations in Iraq (sound frequencies in MHz )
E7 189.25/194.75 Al-Iraqiyah (IMN)
E9 203.25/208.75 Al-Iraqiyah (IMN)
E22 479.25/484.75 Al-Iraqiyah (IMN)
E30 543.25/548.75 Kurdsat, Sulaymaniyah
E31 551.25/556.75 Al-Hurriyah
E33 567.75/572.75 Kurdistan TV
E37 599.25/604.75 Al-Iraqiyah (IMN)
E41 631.25/636.75 Nahrain TV
E45 663.25/668.75 Ashur TV
E54 735.25/740.75 Al-Mashriq (test transmission)
The Iraqi Media Network television launched on 13 May 2003. The Washington Post reported on 11 May that year that the US planned a nationwide Iraqi TV network to succeed the airborne Towards Freedom TV. The programme, initially for two hours but projected to develop into a 24-hour full-service network, included 30 minutes of news each night, including a local news segment, the report said. The station began broadcasts amid squabbling between its US and Canadian advisers, and complaints from its Iraqi journalists about "American censorship", international agencies reported.
IMN TV was renamed Al-Iraqiyah TV in November 2003. The station is available on different channels in 26 major cities and towns across Iraq. For channel details, see the IMN web site at http://www.iraqimedianet.net. Al-Iraqiyah TV also broadcasts on the Arabsat 2D and 3A satellites at 26 degrees east. Surveys carried out in mid-2004 indicated that Al-Iraqiyah, whose coverage area extends to between 70-80 per cent of Iraq, was the TV station with the most viewers. The leading pan-Arab channel was Al-Arabiyah, followed by Al-Jazeera. These two shared almost two-thirds of the satellite TV audience in Iraq.
On 18 November 2004 Jalal al-Mashta resigned as head of Al-Iraqiyah, claiming he had no control over the channel's management and that the budget was being wasted on buying costly foreign programmes while salaries were not being paid. Al-Mashta had been appointed as general director of Al-Iraqiyah in May 2004.
Al-Sharqiya satellite TV - Al-Sharqiya, launched in March 2004, is owned by Iraqi businessman Sa'd al-Bazzaz, who is also the publisher of the Arabic-language daily newspaper Al-Zaman. The channel began regular transmission on 4 May 2004. It describes itself as "the first private, national media project that does not represent any political, ethnic or sectarian group".
Al-Sharqiya is a channel with an Iraqi flavour. The channel's newscasts focus on developments in Iraq and the political, economic and social conditions there. Between newscasts, the channel carries talk shows and interviews, Iraqi music and drama programmes and cartoons for children. All drama series are Iraqi in terms of production, actors and dialect. The only non-Iraqi content is the cartoons.
Al-Sharqiya does not air religious programming and does not carry the calls for prayers or Friday sermons. The channel frequently broadcasts the slogan seen in its logo "Al-Sharqiya - the truth television".
Al-Sharqiya broadcasts 24 hours a day via satellite and terrestrially. It has offices in Baghdad and Dubai Media City. The channel is reported by the Lyngsat satellite chart to be transmitting from the Arabsat 2D, Hot Bird 2 and Nilesat 101 satellites, all in digital format. Viewers in Iraq can receive the channel terrestrially as well as via satellite.
The channel has a web site (under construction) at http://www.alsharqiyatv.com
Al-Diyar TV - On 20 February 2004 Al-Diyar (The Homeland), a new satellite channel for Iraq, was observed testing on the Nilesat 101 satellite at 7 degrees west. On 20 June 2004 Al-Diyar was observed to begin official transmission. Al-Diyar is also available on Arabsat 2B (30 degrees east) and Hot Bird 4 (13 degrees east).
The Lebanese newspaper Al-Safir had reported on 9 February 2004 that Al-Diyar was run by Iraqi media figure Faysal al-Yasiri in cooperation with the pan-Arab satellite pay-TV service Arab Radio and Television Network, ART, which contributed to setting up and financing the new channel. ART is owned by the Saudi billionaire entrepreneur Salih Kamil.
Under Saddam Husayn's regime, Faysal al-Yasiri served in various high-level media posts, including head of Iraqi Radio and Television. According to the on-screen information card, the channel identifies itself, both in Arabic and English, as: "Al-Diyar, the Arabic channel with an Iraqi flavour." A map of Iraq is also shown in the background.
In an interview published by the Iraqi National Congress (INC) weekly newspaper Al-Mu'tamar on 23 February, Faysal al-Yasiri said the new service would be "an Arab channel with an Iraqi flavour. The head office is in Baghdad, which will be the base for programme production and news editing by the technical and engineering staff, which will operate it and run the headquarters. The broadcasting will be either from Amman or Rome centres on both Nilesat and Hotbird satellites. The experimental broadcasting is expected this month and will continue for three months. During the experimental period, only Iraqi programmes will be broadcast, other Arabic programmes will be aired afterwards."
Al-Anwar (The Lights), a Shi'i satellite channel, was observed on 15 September 2004 broadcasting test transmissions on the Nilesat 102 satellite at 7 degrees west. The channel was observed interviewing Iraqi and Kuwaiti citizens, both adults and children, on what they would like to see on Al-Anwar. Most of those interviewed expressed the hope that Al-Anwar television would present a wide variety of religious, educational and cultural programmes that would promote Islamic values in society. Al-Anwar was observed to carry the following two messages to describe itself: "Al-Anwar: A truth in the centre of the sky" and "Al-Anwar: Truth has only one colour."
The channel has a web site at www.alanwar.tv.
Al-Furat (The Euphrates), based in Baghdad, began test transmissions in June 2004. The channel transmits via the Arabsat 2D satellite at 26 degrees east and Arabsat 2B at 30 degrees east. In an on-screen message on 4 January 2005, Al-Furat described itself as "the voice of genuineness and moderation". Al-Furat was observed to express its total support for the election platform of the Unified Iraqi Coalition, which has the backing of Iraq's most senior Shi'i cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and whose electoral list comprises other key Shi'i figures such as Al-Sayyid Abd-al-Aziz al-Hakim, Dr Ibrahim al-Ja'fari, Dr Ahmad Chalabi, Dr Ibrahim Bahr-al-Ulum, Dr Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i and others. The station has a web site (under construction) at www.alforattv.com.
Al-Sumariyah (reference to Sumer, an ancient region of southern Mesopotamia in present-day southern Iraq) - This satellite TV channel began broadcasting from Beirut in mid-October 2004, via the Nilesat 101 satellite at 7 degrees west. It is also available via PanAmSat 4 at 74 degrees east. The channel stated that although it "operates under the licence of the Iraqi government", it would start its broadcasts from the Lebanese capital "for security reasons." Its shareholders are predominantly Iraqi.
Al-Sumariya describes itself as "an independent satellite television which aims at showing the world the true face of Iraq, and not only images of violence." The Lebanese Al-Safir newspaper on 27 October 2004 reported that the television focuses on presenting local Iraqi programmes. Ghanim Humayd, the general technical supervisor of the channel in Baghdad, said that the channel was oriented towards entertainment.
Al-Sumariyah TV has a web site at http://www.alsumaria.tv.
Al-Fayhaa ("The Vast", one of the Arabic names for Basra), is an Iraqi satellite channel that began test transmissions from the UAE in July 2004. The channel uses the Nilesat 102 satellite at 7 degrees west and is reportedly licensed in Dubai Media City. It is also available on Hot Bird 2 at 13 degrees east.
Muhammad al-Ta'i, chairman of the board of directors and director-general of the channel, has described Al-Fayhaa as "a purely Iraqi national channel with no links to other regimes, governments or parties", according to the Iraqi Shi'i group's Iran-based radio station Voice of the Mujahidin on 27 July.
The station has a web site at http://www.alfayhaatv.net/
Nahrain TV is a Baghdad-based terrestrial TV channel which announced plans to launch in August 2004. Nahrain ("rivers"), was financed by an initial 25m-US dollar investment from Naguib Sawiris, chief executive of Orascom, an Egyptian telecommunications group. Orascom also owns Iraq's main wireless operator, Iraqna. It is operated by Video Cairo Sat, an Egyptian production company.
Mohammed Gohar, the founder of Video Cairo Sat, told the International Herald Tribune in remarks published on 16 August 2004: "We have no agenda... We just want to inform and entertain and basically to help people to cope with their daily lives in what is a very shaky and chaotic situation." Nahrain's offices in Baghdad employ a staff of around 80, all of them Iraqi nationals.
According to the International Herald Tribune, Nahrain's 10-hour daily programming schedule "includes ample doses of news and public affairs content... interspersed with musical variety shows, children's cartoons and recent Arabic sitcoms or dramas from Egypt or the Gulf".
Arabic News Broadcast - A new pan-Arab satellite TV channel, United Kingdom-based Arabic News Broadcast (ANB), has beamed test TV programmes from 1700-2000 gmt on the Hotbird 4, Eutelsat W1 and Nilesat satellites. The channel is reported to have four regional bureaus in the Middle East and is believed to be uplinked from Beirut. ANB is a venture launched by a group of businessmen from different parts of the Arab world and has "the single goal of conquering the Iraqi market", according to the Transnational Broadcasting Studies (TBS) journal (spring-summer 2004).
"Iraq is currently the new market, and our aim is to explore this new market," the article quoted Butrus al-Khuri, general manager of ANB, as saying in an interview in London on 31 March 2004. Al-Khuri added that ANB "is financed by a group of businessmen from Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Tunisia, and will depend exclusively on advertisements for revenue. It will not be based only in London, but will have centres in all of those countries. ANB's programming will be entirely in Arabic, except for one daily news bulletin in English, as well as a weekly talk show that will host an English native speaker."
A 19 April 2004 press release by On-Air Systems, a supplier of playout and automated transmission services for TV and radio stations, said that ANB was committed to broadcasting high quality, live international and regional news and general interest programming to its target audience of over 25m viewers. The news release said at the time that ANB planned to broadcast eight hours a day by 1 June 2004, and 24 hours a day later in the year. As well as its news coverage, ANB would also broadcast programmes covering business, sport, travel, music, current affairs, health and technology. Around 80 per cent of its schedule would comprise live broadcasts, the press release said.
Al-Mashriq TV - The Baghdad independent daily newspaper Al-Mashriq on 19 June 2004 published on its front page an advertisement on the start of test broadcasts by Al-Mashriq Television. The advertisement said: "Al-Mashriq, the television of Iraq and Iraqis, has started terrestrial test broadcasts on UHF Channel 54."
Ashur TV - This terrestrial TV station transmits on UHF channel 45. It is run by the Assyrian Democratic Movement. The channel has been observed to carry a variety of programmes that include newscasts, science programmes, songs, drama series and other programmes. Ashur TV has a web site at http://www.ashurtv.org.
Kurdsat television - broadcasts in Kurdish on UHF channel 30 and via the Hotbird satellite. It is run by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Al-Hurriyah [Freedom] television - broadcasts in Arabic on UHF channel 31. It is also run by the PUK.
Kurdistan Television - received in Baghdad on UHF channel 33. It is run by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Karbala - a local TV channel was launched on 16 April 2003, according to United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi TV on 6 May. Similar small-scale local channels are reported to be operating in Najaf and Kut, according to BBC News Online reporter Tarik Kafala, who visited the stations in June 2003. Ninawa TV was launched in mid-July 2003. The Baghdad newspaper Al-Ittihad reported on 14 July that an independent radio station called Ninawa Radio also operates in the city.
Mosul TV was the "first station" to resume transmission in Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Husayn, Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya TV reported on 10 May 2003.
Kirkuk TV channel started broadcasts on 23 April 2003 "under the supervision of the coalition forces", according to a report by the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) newspaper Brayati on 25 April.
PUK TV in Kirkuk - The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan launched a new TV channel in Kirkuk on 23 March 2004, the Baghdad newspaper Al-Mashriq reported. The report says that its broadcasts covers Kirkuk and surrounding areas. An official source at the station said that its goal was to enhance brotherly relations among ethnic groups in the city. He added that broadcasting will be in Arabic, Kurdish, Turkomen and Syriac to include all ethnic groups in Kirkuk.
ATB TV in Kirkuk - Local TV channel ATB began test broadcasts in Kirkuk in June 2004, initially for eight hours a day. The channel is affiliated with the Kurdistan Communist Party. "ATB is the seventh television channel broadcasting to Kirkuk citizens, along with other channels affiliated with the main Kurdish, Islamic and Turkomen parties, in addition to Kirkuk Television, sponsored and supervised by the coalition forces. Moreover, Kirkuk has eight radio stations broadcasting programmes in local languages spoken by various ethnic groups in the governorate," the Baghdad newspaper Al-Ahali reported on 16 June 2004.
Turkomaneli TV and radio was launched in Kirkuk in April 2003 and broadcasts on behalf of the Iraqi Turkoman Front. Turkomaneli Radio opened radio stations in Talla'far and Mosul on 6 and 8 May 2003 respectively, the Iraqi Turkoman Front newspaper Turkomaneli reported on 11 May.
Dijlah (Tigris) satellite channel, with headquarters in Mosul, launched at the start of August 2004. It broadcasts in Kurdish and Arabic.
Iranian broadcast media accessible in Iraq
Television
The Iran-based Al-Alam TV channel in Arabic and English is a 24-hour news channel transmitted on four satellites (Arabsat, Asiasat, Telstar and Hot Bird satellites) and can be received in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and America. Al-Alam broadcasts into Baghdad from a powerful transmitter about 150 km away, just over the Iran-Iraq border. It is the only foreign channel that can be viewed by Iraqis without a satellite dish. That has sent its viewership soaring among Iraqis, who cannot afford a satellite dish and receiver. The Arabic channel began broadcasting in February 2003. English content currently is limited to horizontal news subtitles or news tickers. The station has a web site at www.alalam.ir.
Sahar Universal Network 1 and 2 television, Iran's external satellite TV service on the Hot Bird 1-6 satellites, is viewable across Iraq and includes Arabic programming. It broadcasts on the 13 degrees East Hot Bird 1-6 satellite daily from 0500-2300 gmt. Its web site is located at http://www.sahar.tv.
Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran television in Arabic is based in Tehran and sponsored by the state-run Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It broadcasts daily to Iraq on the Intelsat 902 satellite at 62 degrees east, 10973 MHz, vertical polarization.
Radio
Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran (VIRI) external service in Arabic can be heard on mediumwave and shortwave inside Iraq as well as via the Internet at http://www.irib.ir.
International media
Major international radio and television stations, such as pan-Arab satellite television stations, the BBC Arabic and World Service radio, the Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East, US Radio Sawa and US-sponsored Radio Free Iraq are available in Iraq. BBC World Service is now 24 hours a day on FM in Baghdad and Basra. The FM frequencies for Arabic programming are 89.0 MHz in Baghdad and 90.0 MHz in Basra. BBC World Service in English can be heard on FM in Baghdad on 97.9 MHz, and in Basra on 88.0 MHz.
Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East is on FM on 88.0 MHz in Baghdad for 24 hours a day. Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East can also be heard in Basra on 88.8 MHz and in Mosul on 88.0 MHz. Programming is mostly in Arabic, however with 30-minute news bulletins in French from Radio France International three times a day.
Radio France Internationale started a relay of its French-language programme on 93.5 MHz in Baghdad on 16 February.
Radio Sawa is on FM in Baghdad (100.4 MHz), Arbil (100.5 MHz), Mosul (106.6 MHz), Sulaymaniyah (88.0 MHz) and Basra (107.0), as well as on 1548 kHz MW from Kuwait.
Panorama FM replaced MBC FM on 88.6 MHz in the latter half of 2004, both brands being owned by the Dubai-based Middle East Broadcasting Corporation. 98.8 FM is owned by the Channel 4 Radio Network, which is also based in the United Arab Emirates.
Al-Hurra TV - Since 14 February 2004 satellite viewers in Iraq and the rest of the Arab world have been able to watch a new US government-funded Arabic-language satellite TV channel, Al-Hurra (meaning "the free"). The station broadcasts free-to-air via the direct-to-home Arabsat and Nilesat satellites. It is also distributed via other satellites.
In April 2004 a second channel, Al-Hurra Iraq, was added specifically for Iraqi audiences. It is available by satellite and terrestrially in Baghdad and Basra.
Syrian Arab Republic Radio is the Syrian state-owned radio. The Main Programme broadcasts on shortwave on 12085 and 13610 kHz. It has also been heard in Iraq on the MW frequencies of 819, 828 and 918 kHz.
Radio Kuwait is the state-owned Kuwaiti radio. It can be received in Iraq on the MW frequency of 540 kHz 24 hours.
(Source: BBC Monitoring research 24 Jan 05)