Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – MediaOne Gulf, an exclusive channel for some four million Keralite expatriates in the Gulf, will go on air on April 24, according to Dr. Abdussalam Ahmed, managing director of Media One Television. “The wide acceptance for Media One channel, which was launched two years ago in Malayalam language, was the driving force for launching the Dubai-based Gulf channel,” he told Saudi Gazette. The channel, with a capital of more than $25 million (1.5 billion Indian rupees), promotes an alternative media culture based on moral and human values with optimum utilization of human resources and high tech infrastructure, Ahmed said. Dr. Riyadh K. Najm, president of the Saudi General Commission for Audiovisual Media, launched the logo of the new channel at a colorful ceremony held in Riyadh on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, Najm offered full support to MediaOne, the only Indian channel that has obtained a license from the Ministry of Culture and Information in the Kingdom. While commending the dedication of the team behind MediaOne, he wished every success to the new channel — MediaOne Gulf. Several prominent Saudi and Indian figures addressed the gathering. They included Dr. Abdullah Al-Fardi, director general of Saudi Television 2, Khaled Al-Dawood, regional head of the Muslim World League, Dr. Saad Al-Duwaiaan, advisor at the Ministry of Education, Yousef Abdullah Assalaam, administration manager of Saudi Telecom, Sattam Bin Abdulaziz Al-Omairi, general manager of MediaOne Saudi Arabia, NORKA general consultant Shihab Kottukad, writer Joseph Athirunkal, Shabeer Baker, MediaOne Gulf marketing general manager, K.M. Basheer, MediaOne Saudi Coordinator, Saleem Khaled, MediaOne Saudi chapter secretary, C.K. Muhammad Najeeb, president of Thanima Cultural Forum Saudi chapter and Rijo Ismail, marketing manager of MediaOne Saudi Arabia. In his speech, Abdussalam Ahmed said that the new channel would strive to bolster the bonds of cultural relations between India and the Gulf states. “We are deeply indebted to the whole-hearted support of the expatriate community that enabled MediaOne channel to become one of the leading Indian channels within a short span of two years. The channel, which boasts of the highly advanced technology, presents a unique treat in both visuals and content,” he said while thanking the Saudi government for its support to the channel. Earlier, addressing a meeting in Jeddah, Ahmed said that MediaOne became one of the leading five channels among more than 30 channels in Kerala. “On some occasions, it even topped other channels in rating. The channel with a slogan of ‘Truth in news and virtue in entertainment' posted wonderful growth and exercised unprecedented influence in the society within a short span of time. There are over 60,000 shareholders for the channel, of which the majority are the Gulf-based expatriates.” Referring to the new channel's programs for Saudi viewers, Ahmed said: MediaOne Gulf will support in making aware to Indians the labor regulations in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor. “We have already signed a cooperation agreement with the UAE government. We are trying to ink a similar agreement with the Saudi ministry soon. We discussed this issue with the deputy minister and have plans to meet the minister,” he said. “One of our major highlights will be promoting Saudi tourism, especially religious tourism, and giving deep insight into historic places through travelogue and other programs. There has been wide acceptance from the viewers to our qualitative changes in the perception of program presentations. The channel's look and feel is also widely accepted as well as the content.” The MediaOne channel, floated by the Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited, was launched by the then Indian Defense Minister A.K. Anthony in Calicut, Kerala on Feb. 10, 2013, Ahmed added. Gulf Madhyamam Daily, the No. 1 Malayalam daily in the Middle East, publishing from nine centers in the Gulf with four editions in Saudi Arabia, is another publication from the Madhyamam Group. The function was attended among others by Omar Abubacker, president of MediaOne Jeddah chapter, Moosakutty Vettikkattiri, secretary of the chapter, C.K. Muhammad Najeeb, Abdul Shukoor Ali, C.H. Basheer, C.N.K Nasar, CK, Ashraf Cholakkal, and Sakeer Hussein.
