ArabSat/NileSat to broadcast TRT Arabic-language channel
December 23rd, 2009 - 14:20 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.
ArabSat and NileSat have agreed to help the Turkish government launch an Arabic language television station as part of an initiative from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to improve Turkey’s relations with the Arab world.
TRT, the state-owned Turkish broadcasting authority, will start broadcasting the channel at the beginning of 2010. In January 2009, TRT launched a Kurdish-language channel called TRT-6. Sifir Touran, a Turkish journalist recognized in the Arab region, will manage the new channel.
In a statement, Turkish government officials said the prime minister’s initiative is in response to the slow-moving progress of its accession talks with the European Union (EU) and its dispute with EU member Cyprus.