Despite a comparable budget, Alhurra has failed to garner an audience as significant as those of Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya.
Alhurra | Al Jazeera | Al Arabiya | BBC Arabic News | Al-Manar | Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation | |
Debuted on Air | 2004 | 1996 | 2003 | 2008 | 1991 | 1985 |
Headquarters | Springfield, Va. | Doha, Qatar | Dubai, UAE | London | Beirut, Lebanon | Beirut, Lebanon |
Annual Budget | $78.49 Million2 | $100 Million3 | $80 Million - $90 Million4 |
$50 Million5 | $15 Million6 | |
Viewership1 | 2 percent | 53 percent | 9 percent | 2 percent | 3 percent | |
Source of Funding | U.S. Government | Qatari Government | Saudi Investors | BBC | Hezbollah7 | Saudi Investors |
1From the 2008 Annual Arab Public Opinion Poll by Zogby International, in response to the question, "When you watch international news, which of the following network's news broadcasts do you watch most often?" These figures are for the pan-Arabic audience in the Middle East. There is no question Alhurra has a sizable audience in Iraq.
2Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Al Hurra
3Press reports
4Al Arabiya employee who asked to not be named
5BBC spokesman
6Al-Manar TV's media office
7U.S. Treasury Department