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SAT-7 REACHES RECORD AUDIENCE IN ALGERIA
Added: (Wed Oct 10 2001)
News… for immediate release
SAT-7 REACHES RECORD AUDIENCE IN ALGERIA
A Christian TV channel is working to ease tensions and bring reconciliation between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa.
SAT-7, a not-for-profit organisation, aims to break down barriers of misunderstanding concerning Arab Christians, who are dwindling minority in the region.
Some 60 per cent of Arab Christians in the Middle East and North Africa have emigrated since the 1950s due to economic hardship and hostility. Satellite TV, which is flourishing across the Arab world, is the ideal way to reach and encourage them.
SAT-7’s popularity is growing. A new industry survey by independent market researchers shows the channel is reaching a record 5 million viewers in Algeria alone. Of these, 1.5 million watch regularly.
The Algerian newspaper Afaq Milat Aljazairia carried out its own survey in schools and reported: ‘60 per cent of the students have watched the SAT-7 channel at least once, and 30 per cent have watched As Sanabel.’
The As Sanabel children’s programme is SAT-7’s most popular show, with its mix of Bible stories and entertainment. A 14-year-old girl from Algeria wrote in to show her appreciation:
‘I wish you to continue to prosper because your programme is the best among the children’s programmes of the Arabic channels. I watch it regularly and I like it very much because it teaches me something new every time.’
Another Algerian girl wrote:
‘I want to praise your efforts to make us smile and to bring joy to the hearts of innocent children who have no other such entertaining, educational and spiritual programmes.’
Cyprus-based SAT-7 has been on air since 1996 and broadcasts a daily programme sequence for the Arab world. It strives to be culturally sensitive, is run largely by Arabs and has the support of all the major Christian denominations across the Middle East.
‘SAT-7 can have a major impact on a region which is misunderstood by the West,’ says David Radford, SAT-7 Trust’s Development Director for Great Britain and Ireland.
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‘SAT-7 can play a significant role in presenting the Christian message in a way that can be understood by 430 million people. It can result in people living peacefully together with a better understanding of what the Christian message is really all about.’
SAT-7 broadcasts on two satellites:
EUTELSAT W2 at 16° East, covering North Africa, the Middle East and Europe (11.178 GHz Vertical)
EUTELSAT HOT BIRD 5 at 13° East, covering the Arabian Peninsula, the Gulf and other parts of the Middle East. (11.642 GHz Horizontal 27,500 symbols/secs, FEC ¾)
ENDS
Note to editors:
For further information or a media pack about SAT-7, please contact:
SAT-7’s Bristol office can be reached at: SAT-7 Trust Ltd, PO Box 1214, Bristol, BS99 2RS
Tel: 0117 953 7773; Fax: 0117 953 7774, email: bristol@sat7.org
Photographs can be downloaded from our website: www.sat7.org