WRN signs contract with Arabsat to distribute new Arabic language radio station

Audiences across the Middle East and North Africa will be tuning into a unique, new Arabic language radio station that brings together programmes and content from around the world, following the signing of an agreement between WRN and leading satellite operator Arabsat from July 1st 2006.

The new radio station development by WRN, the London-based international broadcaster and transmission service provider, will bring together daily programmes produced by the Arabic departments of many of the world’s leading public radio broadcasters. Listeners will be able to hear daily perspectives from Montreal with Radio Canada International, Seoul from KBS World Radio, Moscow with Voice of Russia, Bucharest with Radio Romania International and from the Vatican City with Vatican Radio. More international stations are lined up to join this new station providing listeners with a unique tour of the world’s capitals without leaving their home or needing their passports.

Tim Ayris, WRN’s Marketing Manager, who has project managed the station’s development says “When looking for a satellite partner in the Middle East that was able to deliver our new station directly to millions of households, we naturally turned to Arabsat. The launch of our 24/7 Arabic language station, Sawt Al Alam or “Voice of the World”, will let listeners tune into fresh global perspectives from different nations.”

Eng. Khalid Balkhyour, Arabsat President & CEO, welcomed this new highly innovative radio programme as an original and complementary addition to Arabsat’s extensive Free-to-Air offering, wishing them every success. “We are committed to actively support WRN’s development and success in the Arab world. By bringing them our established audience of 130 million individuals across the entire Middle East North Africa region and way beyond towards sub-Saharan Africa, we believe they will soon become a well established station in the MENA media landscape.”

Listeners may receive Sawt Al Alam from WRN by tuning to the following technical parameters:

Satellite:                      BADR-2 @ 26° East
Frequency:                  11,661 MHz
Polarization:                Vertical
FEC:                             3/4
Encryption factor:        27,500 MS/s

The station will be launched on Arabsat as part of a global deployment on other digital satellite platforms in Europe and North Africa on July 1st.

(Source: WRN)