The channel, under the Saudi Broadcasting Authority, will serve as the official platform that broadcasts the Kingdom’s official events and entertainment activities.
Saudi Arabia has announced the launch of a new channel titled ‘Saudia Alaan’ (Saudia Now) in commemoration of the upcoming 93rd National Day on September 23, according to a report by Saudi Gazette.
Salman Al-Dosari, the Minister of Media and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), made the official announcement of the channel’s debut. ‘Saudia Alaan’ is set to become the official Saudi platform for broadcasting all official events and entertainment activities and programmes.
The primary objective of ‘Saudia Alaan’ is to spotlight the growth and rapid development that Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing and the huge scale of events that it is organising in its race towards achieving the goals of its ambitious Vision 2030 in the future. These events encompass a wide range of local, regional, and international activities, spanning political, economic, educational, and entertainment domains.
Al-Dosari emphasised the role of media in keeping pace with the Kingdom’s ongoing development and tangible progress across various sectors. He noted that the media’s active participation serves as a significant indicator of the Kingdom’s dynamism, evident in the multitude of events, activities, occasions, and conferences it hosts. “This is also complemented by the media roles that are a reflective mirror of national events, and within the framework of the soft powers that Saudi Arabia follows in reflecting the Kingdom’s image to the entire world. This step is only a small part of the great efforts made by SBA as part of its strategy to enhance local content and achieve the transformation programme,” he added.
Mohammed Al-Harthi, CEO of SBA, confirmed that all preparations for the launch of the new channel have been completed. “The new channel will be dedicated to covering events, occasions, and activities that take place in the Kingdom, based on SBA’s roles in contributing to the development of all sectors and integration with the partner entities. The new channel will allocate time slots to cover events directly and will be integrated with social networking platforms to reach the largest segment of viewers as well as to create interaction with the public,” he pointed out.
Al-Harthi further disclosed that the SBA has established partnerships with various organisations to enhance the channel’s content and provide high-quality services. “The launch of the channel comes as a result of a surge in demand for coverage of events, activities, exhibitions and conferences in all regions of the Kingdom, especially in light of the increasing number of events, exhibitions and conferences hosted by the Kingdom. A total of 5,650 event licenses have been issued during the year 2022, and this is an increase of 367% compared to the year 2021, in addition to the role of the channel in achieving the strategy of companies and institutions that seek to gain access to a large and diverse segment of the public in the Kingdom,” he concluded.
