Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa Audience Jumps to 35 Million in the Middle East

Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa Audience Jumps to 35 Million in the Middle East

Over 70 Percent of Audience Finds News Reliable

SPRINGFIELD, Va., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa are now reaching a total unduplicated audience of 35 million adults (15 and over) per week according to the latest ACNielsen survey released today. This represents the fourth consecutive audience increase since the inception of the ACNielsen surveys of the stations. The latest survey also shows that in spite of high levels of anti-American sentiment throughout the region, both Alhurra and Radio Sawa are regarded as credible sources of news and information by their audiences.

According to ACNielsen, Alhurra the satellite television station reaching 22 countries in the Middle East has an adult audience of 21.3 million each week in just the nine countries surveyed. ACNielsen also reported that Radio Sawa, the Arabic-language radio network broadcasting music and news, has a weekly audience of 20.8 million adults.

The survey reported that news on Alhurra and Radio Sawa was a powerful programming factor for their audiences. Seventy-seven percent of the Alhurra audience said they were interested in watching Alhurra for the news. Radio Sawa listeners in the broadcaster's key markets ranked the station as one of their top two choices for radio news and information.

Alhurra and Radio Sawa also scored well in news reliability. The ACNielsen survey reported that 77 percent of Alhurra's viewers and 73 percent of Radio Sawa's listeners consider the news reliable. Compared to the ACNielsen surveys a year ago, news credibility for Alhurra took major jumps in three key markets: in Egypt 70 percent to 92 percent, in Jordan from 46 percent to 68 percent, and in Lebanon from 53 percent to 79 percent.

"Since their inception, Sawa and Alhurra have shown that you can reach the masses in numbers that were unimaginable for U.S. International Broadcasting prior to their creation, while not sacrificing news reliability or access to elites," stated Norman J. Pattiz, Chairman on the Middle East Committee of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

The survey conducted by ACNielsen is one of the largest and most comprehensive media surveys in the Middle East. Results are based on over 14,000 face-to-face interviews conducted across nine countries in the Middle East in May and June of 2005. Survey respondents were randomly selected using industry standard sampling methods to represent the adult (15 and older) population of each country studied. The margin of error is 2.6 percent.

Alhurra is broadcast on the Nilesat and Arabsat satellites, the same satellites used by the major regional Arabic channels. Alhurra is operated by the non-profit corporation "The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc." (MBN). MBN is financed by the U.S. Government through a grant from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an independent federal agency. The BBG serves oversight and as a firewall to protect the professional independence and integrity of the broadcasters. For more information on Alhurra go to http://www.alhurra.com/.

MBN also operates Radio Sawa which seeks to effectively communicate with the youthful population of Arabic-speakers in the Middle East by providing up- to-date news, information and a mix of Western and Arabic popular music on its 24/7 FM and medium wave radio stations throughout the region. Its secondary target audience is news-seekers of all ages. Radio Sawa is committed to broadcasting accurate, timely and relevant news about the Middle East, the world and the United States, to the highest standards of journalism, as well as the free marketplace of ideas, respect for the intelligence and culture of its audience, and a style that is upbeat, modern and forward-looking.

Radio Sawa broadcasts on FM in Morocco (Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Meknes, Marrakesh, Agadir and Fes), Jordan (Amman and Ajlun), Palestinian territories (Ramallah), Kuwait (Kuwait City), Bahrain (Manama), Qatar (Doha), U.A.E. (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), Iraq (Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Sulimaniya and Erbil) and Djibouti. Radio Sawa broadcasts on medium wave to Egypt, Yemen and Sudan. Radio Sawa streams its programming at its all-news Web site http://www.radiosawa.com/.

Source: The Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc.

CONTACT: Deirdre Kline, +1-703-852-9250, for The Middle East
Broadcasting Networks, Inc.

Web site: http://www.alhurra.com/
http://www.radiosawa.com/

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