Al Arabiya (Arabic: العربية, pronounced: al-ʿArabiyyah or al-ʻArabīyah; the name means: "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi-owned pan-Arabist television news channel broadcast in Literary Arabic. Launched on 3 March 2003, the channel is based in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates, and is majority-owned by the Saudi broadcaster Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC).
General manager of Al Arabiya is Abdulrahman al Rashed. A free-to-air channel, Al Arabiya carries news, current affairs, business and financial markets, sports, talk shows, and documentaries. It is rated by the BBC among the top pan-Arab stations by Middle East audiences. The channel has been criticized for having a "pro-Saudi agenda", and it was once banned in Iraq by the US-installed Governing Council for "incitement to murder" for broadcasting audio tapes of Saddam Hussein.
On 26 January 2009, American president Barack Obama gave his first formal interview as president to the television channel.
Read more about Al Arabiya: Content and Al Jazeera Rivalry, Programs, Investment and Ownership, Track Record and Controversies, Barack Obama Appearance, Online, Competitors