The Arab satellite and the television news and program exchange between Arab countries
This thesis examines the role of the Arab satellite as a new means of technology, in the exchange of TV production in the Arab region. The study points out the situation of the Arab TV production and examines its problems. Arab TV production had been facing a lack of quantity and quality which led to a high average of importation in order to fulfill the needs of the national Arab TV programmings importation is based on western programs mainly American including serials, detectives, long feature films, documentaries, cartoons, etc. However, even with the importation, Arab countries face, on the international production market, many problems related to the type and the cost of the programs, imposed by the American and the big production companies. The study includes a TV survey on the Algerian TV programming taken as an example of the TV programming structure in the region, and where the high average of importation is pointed out. The study examines the TV exchange traffic in the region between the three regional areas: Maghreb, Mashrek and the Gulf, and within each one, before and after the launch of the Arab satellite. The TV exchange which had been limited for years, was expected to flourish after the launch of the satellite with its big capacities in solving some of the major communication problems in the area like the lack of TV exchange. However, political problems such as conflicts, different political view, systems etc, which are strong in the region, stand as obstacles for the satellite, preventing it from fulfilling its role properly. The life time of the Arab satellite cannot be saved and its capacities cannot be fully used unless the Arab governments become really and deeply aware of the effects of the political problems and differences on the relations between them in general and on the situation of TV exchange in the region in particular. 13
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