MBC TV channels and Al Arabiya jammed

[timesurfer]

MBC TV channels and Al Arabiya jammed

The Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) television channels, including the 24-hour news service Al Arabiya, have been jammed and their officials said they had no idea where the jamming came from.

The group's 12 satellite TV channels went off air on Tuesday night and most of them were still off today, prompting the company to announce alternative frequencies for the viewers to see the channels. The jamming also affected the news service Al Arabiya, which said it had received many calls enquiring about the disruption.

The Saudi-owned MBC, the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting firm in the Arab world transmits via a satellite owned by the Egyptian group Nilesat. "Sources inside MBC said they do not know yet who is doing the jamming of its channels and why," the Saudi Sabq newspaper said. But according to a late night announcement by Al Arabiya, the jamming is possibly coming from "somewhere southeast of Tripoli" in Libya.

MBC was launched in London in 1991 and later moved its headquarters to Dubai. The company, owned by a group of Saudi businessmen and chaired by Sheikh Walid Al-Ibrahim, comprises 12 channels including Al Arabiya, MBC 1, MBC2, MBC 3, MBC 4, MBC Action, MBC Drama, MBC Max and others.