Local television is the most significant media platform in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. Given the low literacy rate in the country, television is the main source of news for Yemenis. There are six free-to-air channels currently headquartered in Yemen, of which four are state-owned.
The government runs four terrestrial television channels:
Yemen TV (the flagship national TV station),
Aden TV,
Sheba TV (aimed at youth and students) and
Al Iman TV (covers religious issues). The Yemeni satellite channel is aimed at Yemeni expatriates abroad, whilst the opposition channel,
Suhail TV, is currently headquartered in Riyadh. Due to the high price of satellite dishes relative to the local levels of income, terrestrial channels have the highest penetration, and there is minimal penetration of pay-TV.
Until recently,
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
and
Al Arabiya
Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC.
The channel is a fl ...
were the most popular channels for news and information about events in Yemen, however Suhail TV gained in popularity after the political uprisings. A survey conducted by the BBC in 2010, revealed that only 14% of viewers preferred to watch Yemeni state-run TV rather than international satellite channels, suggesting strong preference for satellite channels from overseas.
List of channels
Yemen has around 15
television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...
s. These channels are:
* Yemen television channel: The first official channel started broadcasting in 1975 in
North Yemen
North Yemen may refer to:
* Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962)
* Yemen Arab Republic
The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...
as local media, joined other Arab channels via
INTELSAT-59 in 1995 and later
Nilesat
Nilesat (; , ''or'' ) is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated mission control center and ground st ...
.
* Yamania television channel: This channel was founded in 1980 in the South of Yemen as "Aden channel" and was renamed after the
unity of Yemen.
* Al-Saeeda television channel: New television channel opened in 2007 and is broadcasting via
Nilesat
Nilesat (; , ''or'' ) is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated mission control center and ground st ...
.
* Suhail television channel: This channel started its test programs in May 2009 on
Nilesat
Nilesat (; , ''or'' ) is an Egyptian company and the name of a series of Egyptian communications satellites. It was established in 1996 with the purpose of operating Egyptian satellites and their associated mission control center and ground st ...
and
Arabsat
The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (often abbreviated as Arabsat) is a communications satellite operator in the Arab World, headquartered in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arabsat was created to deliver satellite-based, public and ...
, but soon after (about 2 months) closed upon the government request to
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, reasoning that the channel is broadcasting against the law, especially while Yemen is still engaged in
Shia insurgency. The station however could broadcast again from an unknown area via Nilesat at the new frequency, 11595 MHz.
The channel website
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* Al-Iman television channel: Islamic dedicated channel opened recently in 2008 as a moderate channel against radicalism and terror.
See also
* Radio in Yemen
References
{{Asia topic, Television in
Television stations
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ear ...