German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) will continue to transmit its Arabic language TV channel for refugees in Europe on Astra (19.2° East).
Satellite operator SES has agreed to extend the free-of-charge distribution of the channel by one year. The project partnership between SES and DW was initiated in summer 2015 as a reaction to the growing number of refugees from the Middle East.
DW Arabia 2 launched in December 2015 and offer news and information from and about Germany and Europe. The foundation is DW’s Arabic language channel supplemented by programmes from German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.
“The decision by SES Astra, ARD and ZDF to support the project for another year is an important political message in troubled times,” DW’s general director Peter Limbourg said in Bonn.
“With DW Arabia 2, we build a bridge to the programmes of the domestic public broadcasters,” added Limbourg. “When the service runs out at the end of 2017, many of the refugees will already be able to watch the German-language TV offers by ARD and ZDF.”
