In June, ASBU hosted the 24th edition of the Arab Radio and TV Festival, uniting key players from the Arab world to expand their reach and strengthen regional unity. BroadcastPro ME brings you the highlights.
Each year, the Arab Radio and Television Festival, organised by the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) in collaboration with Tunisian media outlets, the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) and Arabsat, outshines itself under Director General Abdelrahim Suleiman. In recent years, Suleiman has gone to great lengths to ensure the organisation remains robust and influential by making it commercially viable through various diversified business initiatives. As a result, ASBU has retained greater negotiating power with vendors and solution providers on behalf of its members.
The latest edition, which took place in June in Tunisia, brought together media professionals, industry leaders, and cultural figures across the Arab world. More than 200 journalists from across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and China arrived to cover the four-day event. While the festival includes only a small exhibition space, it features a large conference that brings together prominent figures from across the region. ASBU exemplifies the success of collaborative innovation among Arab public broadcasters, showcasing how joint efforts can lead to significant mutual benefits.
Each year, attendees are also introduced to some cultural aspect of Tunis. This year, the festival opened with a concert at the historic Carthage Amphitheatre, where well-known Lebanese pop singer Ragheb Alama performed for an audience of nearly 8,000. This opening event also brought together a combination of AV technologies intended to showcase ASBU’s technical prowess.
The closing ceremony featured an impressive 110-member orchestra of musicians from various Arab countries. Six singers from different Arab nations performed at the closing ceremony, further emphasising the region’s rich musical traditions.
The festival not only brought together representatives from 22 Arab countries but also attracted significant international attention, particularly from China, which sent more than 40 delegates, including a minister and representatives from 12 different companies. The Chinese delegation reinforced the country’s growing interest in Arab media and the potential for cross-cultural collaboration. In fact, ASBU’s Suleiman is also vice chairperson of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government a decade ago to invest in more than 150 countries and international organisations.
Partnerships and deals
In addition to the cultural showcases, one of the most significant aspects was the signing of several high-profile agreements involving key players in the broadcasting and technology sectors, highlighting the festival’s role as a catalyst for industry growth and innovation.
Arabsat, Globecast and ASBU partner to take GAB further across the world
A major highlight was the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ASBU, Arabsat and Globecast to extend their long-term broadcast partnership for another five years, ensuring the continued global reach of the Global Arabic Bouquet (GAB) channels. Launched in 2004, GAB brings together a range of Arabic public broadcasters, including SBA, Sharjah TV, Oman TV and Kuwait TV, into a single package distributed worldwide via satellite, OTT and now terrestrial platforms. For the last twenty years, Globecast has provided global satellite distribution from its technical facilities across the US, Europe, Africa and Asia.
Under the terms of the new deal, Globecast will deliver enhanced services for GAB by adding terrestrial distribution to its existing IPTV, digital TV and OTT platforms. Viewers can access GAB via Sling, Freeview and a bespoke application developed for Roku, as well as operators across the US, Latin America, the UK and France. By leveraging Globecast’s extensive distribution network, the GAB channels will be able to reach new markets and engage with a broader audience.
Media City – Qatar and Cité de Mémoire join forces to preserve the country’s media heritage
Another major agreement was signed between Media City – Qatar and Cité de Mémoire, a French company specialising in digitisation and archiving. This aims to establish a regional media digitisation and preservation centre in Qatar to protect the country’s media assets and make them more accessible to researchers, historians and the general public.
China’s NRTA and ASBU strengthen Sino-Arab media cooperation
China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) also signed a deal with ASBU during the festival. This deal is expected to enhance Sino-Arab media cooperation, particularly in the areas of content exchange and training. Under the agreement, NRTA will provide ASBU members with access to a wide range of Chinese content, including dramas and documentaries, free of charge. This content exchange is subject to certain conditions, but is a significant step towards greater cultural exchange between China and the Arab world. The agreement also includes provisions for training and capacity-building, which will help to enhance the skills and expertise of media professionals in the Arab world. By facilitating the exchange of content and expertise, this partnership will contribute to the development of a more dynamic and interconnected media landscape in both regions.
TVU Networks to deliver advanced media transmission solutions to ASBU
TVU Networks also entered into an agreement with ASBU to deliver advanced media transmission solutions to all ASBU member organisations. This partnership is expected to enhance their technical capabilities, enabling them to deliver high-quality content more efficiently. TVU’s IP- and cloud-based solutions will allow ASBU members to transmit live video content more effectively, reducing costs and improving the quality of their broadcasts.
Basil Zoubi, ASBU Director of Technology and Innovation, says: “This workflow will allow easy media exchange without obstacles. TVU technology provides a high-resolution, low-latency signal that rivals satellite transmission at a fraction of the cost.”
This agreement leverages the power of live video content distribution over IP, using TVU receivers and the cloud-based TVU Grid service – the optimal method for ASBU members to transmit to and receive from ASBU Cloud, a central media exchange hub servicing member organisations throughout the MENA region. Awad Eid, Head of Multimedia Exchange Networks at ASBU, calls the partnership “a significant milestone for ASBU and its member organisations”.
“By integrating TVU’s advanced IP- and cloud-based solutions, we are ensuring that our media outlets can operate with greater efficiency and flexibility. This initiative will not only enhance the quality and reliability of broadcasts of our members but also pave the way for future innovations in media exchange across the region.”
The agreement was signed at a ceremony during the ASBU conference. Member organisations in Somalia, Comoros and Djibouti are the first to implement the advanced receivers and utilise TVU Grid.
Providing equal support to members
Suleiman highlights ASBU’s ongoing efforts to support its members, particularly in the areas of infrastructure development and covering high-profile delegations on their international trips. It covers major world events within and outside the Arab region for its members. It continues to advance its modern communication systems and enhance the services provided to its member bodies, regional and international radio organisations.
Among the recent prominent events were the coverage of the 37th African Union Summit in February in Addis Ababa this year, the Summit of Gas Exporting Countries in Algeria in March, the 33rd Arab Summit in Bahrain in May, and this season’s Hajj coverage in collaboration with SBA.
“When any president or foreign minister travels for an international event, a country traditionally sends its own team of journalists and technicians to cover the event, a process that is both expensive and logistically challenging. ASBU has adopted a more efficient and cost-effective approach by pooling resources and centralising the coverage process. Instead of each member state sending a separate team, ASBU dispatches a single highly skilled team of technicians and journalists. This team covers all the relevant events, each of the heads of state, and provides the footage through dedicated channels established by ASBU. The media content is then transmitted via ASBU’s MENOS system, a satellite-based exchange network, and cloud infrastructure, ensuring it is accessible to all member states,” explains Suleiman.
By combining its resources and negotiating as a collective, Suleiman says all members can access the same high-quality infrastructure. This has significantly reduced individual country expenses. If a member state requires more specific reporting, such as dedicated coverage, the entity offers tailored services to meet those needs. This centralised, cooperative approach has helped Arab nations present a unified and well-coordinated media presence on the global stage.
ASBU also sometimes pays for equipment upfront and allows members to repay it incrementally. In a recent instance, it supported Somali broadcasters by covering 50% of the cost of new equipment, with the remaining 50% paid by the equipment provider.
ASBU Link Centre
In addition to its infrastructure and cost reduction efforts, ASBU has also invested in new projects aimed at enhancing its members’ capabilities. Alongside its Media Training Academy, a five-star hotel and the ASBU Cloud platform, ASBU has embarked on the ASBU Link Centre Business Centre project. Located near the ASBU headquarters in Tunis, it has 15 floors covering a total a
rea of 33,000 sqm and will feature offices, presentation halls, restaurants, recreational spaces and facilities for exhibitions, conferences, seminars and international meetings. One important feature will be the presence of start-ups and businesses. Ensuring active engagement with them and tailoring its components to meet the functional needs of these enterprises, particularly those in the audio-visual and communication sectors, the centre will integrate all their technical, financial, insurance and legal requirements within a collaborative workspace. Construction on the project has commenced, with an estimated cost of $32m, and completion is expected within 26 months.
This year’s edition of the Arab Radio and Television Festival was not just a celebration of Arab media; it was a testament to the region’s growing influence on the global media stage. Through strategic partnerships, infrastructure development and innovative initiatives, ASBU is playing a crucial role in shaping the future of Arab media. The festival provides a platform for industry leaders to come together, share ideas and forge new partnerships that will drive the industry forward. As the Arab world continues to embrace new technologies and adapt to changing media consumption habits, festivals like this will help ensure that the region remains at the forefront of global media innovation.
Coverage of the war in Gaza
One of the festival’s core themes this year was also a plea to free Gaza. ASBU, in collaboration with the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation, has been covering the war in Gaza since it began. This coverage is also made available to partner regional radio unions in Europe, Asia and Africa. In addition to cooperating with Palestinian television and supporting its efforts in providing this coverage, one of the union’s satellite channels on Arabsat has been allocated to broadcast it.
“ASBU’s General Administration has contracted special correspondents in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem to report daily events and breaking news related to the war,” says Suleiman.
ASBU also uses verified and credible mobile phone footage from social media networks.
“Contracting field correspondents directly has helped increase the scale and quality of coverage. ASBU correspondents produce an average of 210 stories each month, equating to more than seven stories daily. Recognising the success of this initiative, ASBU’s general administration now intends to support and expand this approach by adopting similar coverage strategies for events in conflict or war-torn countries across the Arab region. In this context, we are finalising plans for coverage using field correspondence in Sudan, Yemen and Libya, with implementation scheduled to begin in the near future,” Suleiman concludes.
