A media organisation backed by Saudi Arabia is considering launching a new international news channel.
According to the Financial Times, the Saudi Research and Media Group has approached a number of media consultancies to establish whether such a project would be viable. Preparations for the channel are said to be in their early stages.
Al Jazeera, based in neighbouring Qatar, has a significant presence across the world and has raised the profile of the State.
Saudi Research and Media Group already runs Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, a pan-Arab daily, and Asharq News, a television network that has an association with Bloomberg. It also has ties to the UK-based Independent website.
Alarabiya and UAE-based Sky News Arabia are also owned by Saudi interests.
There is no love lost between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Saudi Arabia is widely believed to have been the host of ‘pirate’ station BeoutQ, which challenged Qatar-based beIN sports from 2018 through pirated content.
