Arabs have 1,294 satellite TV channels

Arab countries have 1,294 satellite TV channels and most of them are private ventures broadcasting a variety of subjects, according to an official report.

The channels include 1,129 private TV stations and 165 government channels operating via the two main regional satellites Arabsat and Nilesat, showed the report by the Tunisia-based Arab States Broadcasting Union.

The report showed they cover 323 general TV channels, 124 for music, 152 for Arab drama, 170 for sport, 95 for religion, 26 for children and the rest for culture, education, family, tourism and business. It showed 248 channels are devoted for commercials.

A breakdown showed most of them operate in Arabic while 161 channels transmit in English, 25  in French, 19 in Urdu, nine in Kurdish, four in Persian and two in Hebrew.