JEDDAH — Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja met on Wednesday night a consultant team from Bain and Co. to review the progress of a proposed media platform. The minister and the consultants discussed strategies and mechanisms for launching the media platform for transmitting satellite channels from within the Kingdom. The meeting was attended by the President of the General Commission for Visual and Audio Media Dr. Riyadh Kamal Najm. During the meeting, they discussed subjects related to launching the media platform, which would encourage the start of transmission of Saudi satellite channels from within the Kingdom. They also discussed planned infrastructure and technology. The platform will be able to attract channels that transmit at present from outside the Kingdom so as to benefit from the services of this platform in transmitting those channels. The General Commission for Visual and Audio Media said after the construction the platform will have distinct capabilities and it will compete with its counterparts outside the Kingdom. The platform will have operation and local production services, aside from construction of an integrated services center for satellite channels with the aim of creating a comprehensive environment for these channels' work. The commission pointed out that it would open up avenues in employing Saudi youth through the establishment of an academy or developing one of the existing media academies to train the students and qualify them in technical and technological production for audio and visual media. The meeting also approved a work plan to start procedures to obtain a license for building and operating the media platform using Saudi investors from the private sector. This will be announced after Eid Al-Adha. The commission said that it would prepare the bylaws in the coming period according to which the satellite channels will be granted licenses for transmission through this platform. Three months ago the Council of Ministers had issued a decision delegating the General Commission for Visual and Audio Media to carry out the necessary measures to establish the platform. This will enable the Saudi satellite channels to transmit directly from within the Kingdom. — SG/SPA
