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July 1, 2010 Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 620

Inflammatory Middle East TV Channels Circumvent French Media Regulator's Ban

July 1, 2010 | By Y. Feldner*
Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 620

Introduction

In recent years, the French media regulator, the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (CSA), has instructed the French company Eutelsat to remove several Arab and Iranian TV channels from its satellites. Although Eutelsat carried out the instructions, most of the inciting channels have resurfaced on Eutelsat satellites – sometimes within a matter of hours.

The Case of Al-Manar TV – Successful Ban on Eutelsat

In December 2004, the French Conseil d'Etat instructed Eutelsat to terminate transmission of Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV on its Hotbird 4 satellite. The Al-Manar TV channel was part of a multiplex of channels operated by the Arab League-owned Arabsat Company. In the wake of this decision, Arabsat notified Eutelsat that Al-Manar had "voluntarily" decided to cease broadcasting on Hotbird.[1]

The decision to remove Al-Manar TV from the Eutelsat satellite was made following Al-Manar TV's broadcasting of the ultra-antisemitic Syrian-produced TV series "Al-Shatat." This decision encountered fierce opposition by Hizbullah sympathizers in France, but Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin rejected the criticism, dubbing Al-Manar TV programs "incompatible with French values" in a powerful statement to the upper house of French parliament.[2]

In the case of Al-Manar TV, the measures taken by the French authorities have proven successful: Al-Manar TV has not resumed broadcasting on any Eutelsat satellite.

The Case of Sahar-1 TV – Same Channel, Different Name

In February 2005, the CSA instructed Eutelsat to stop the transmission of the Iranian government-owned channel Sahar-1 TV within one month.[3] The decision was made following the broadcasting of the "Al-Shatat" series, as well as another antisemitic series called "Zahra's Blue Eyes" and an interview with French Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson.

Eleven months later, in January 2006, Sahar-1 TV made the following announcement: "We would like to draw to the attention of our dear viewers that Sahar Television has decided to change its name to Al-Kawthar."[4] The name change was accompanied by a new logo, and shortly after that, Al-Kawthar TV was admitted back to the Hotbird satellite, on which it continues to broadcast to this day.

The Case of Al-Rahma TV – Same Channel, Different Frequency

Al-Rahma TV, an Egyptian-based Islamist channel, has been broadcasting virulent antisemitic and anti-Western incitement since it began operating in November 2007, first through the Eutelsat-owned Atlantic Bird 4 satellite and later, through the Atlantic Bird 4a satellite, which were leased to the Egyptian Nilesat company.[5] Frequencies not leased to Nilesat were leased to virtual operators – Noorsat, Gulfsat, and others – that supply satellite TV services, without actually owning satellites. These operators lease the frequencies directly from Eutelsat and sell them to the various channels.

In September 2009, the CSA warned Eutelsat that the content broadcast by Al-Rahma TV was in violation of French law.[6] This warning did not lead to any change in the content of Al-Rahma broadcasts, and the CSA instructed Eutelsat, in March 2010, to stop transmission of Al-Rahma TV on its satellite.

Since Al-Rahma TV was broadcasting through one of the frequencies leased by Eutelsat to Nilesat, Eutelsat passed the CSA decision down to Nilesat and instructed it to remove Al-Rahma TV. The Nilesat management told Al-Rahma TV owners that its hands were tied and that it was obliged by its contract with Eutelsat to remove the channel.

Nevertheless, Al-Rahma TV continues to be aired on the same Eutelsat satellite. Al-Rahma TV moved the channel from a frequency that Eutelsat leased to Nilesat to a frequency that Eutelsat leased to another operator – Noorsat. In addition – in keeping with the precedent of Al-Kawthar TV – the channel changed its name from Al-Rahma to Nasaem Al-Rahma, adding the word "Nasaem" to its logo as well. So far, the CSA has not reacted to this violation of its decision to remove the channel from Eutelsat.

The Case of Al-Aqsa TV – Same Channel, Different Eutelsat Satellite

Al-Aqsa TV, the Hamas channel operating from Gaza, was broadcasting on Atlantic Bird 4a, on a frequency leased by Eutelsat to Noorsat. In June 2010, the CSA instructed Eutelsat to remove Al-Aqsa TV. In this case, the CSA was following the instructions of the EU. Eutelsat, in turn, passed the decision down to Noorsat. When the CSA decision was made public, Hamas began a political campaign to have it changed. The French authorities gave Al-Aqsa TV a five-day reprieve in an effort to reach an agreement, but negotiations led nowhere, because Hamas refused to comply with the French demand to change its broadcasting policies. Consequently, a deadline of June 24, 2010, at 20:00 local time, was declared.

Al-Aqsa TV's broadcasts, from the day the deadline was set, showed a clock in a corner of its screen, with a countdown to the hour of the deadline. When the countdown on the screen reached 00:00, the broadcast of the channel on this frequency was terminated. However, on its website and on the TV channel still broadcasting on an Arabsat frequency – which, of course, was unaffected by the CSA instruction – Al-Aqsa TV announced that within three hours it would start broadcasting on a new frequency, on the Atlantic Bird 2 – also a Eutelsat satellite – located at 8 W. Indeed, on the night Al-Aqsa TV was removed from one Eutelsat satellite, it began broadcasting on another satellite owned by Eutelsat.

In fact, Al-Aqsa TV was not entirely removed even from Atlantic Bird 4a. On the same Noorsat frequency previously occupied by Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas launched another channel, called Seraj Al-Aqsa TV. It is noteworthy that when Al-Aqsa TV was launched, back in January 2006, it was first called Seraj Al-Aqsa, and only later changed its name to Al-Aqsa TV, when it shifted from "experimental broadcast" to regular programming.

The same Seraj Al-Aqsa TV was also launched on Eutelsat's Atlantic Bird 2. This Eutelsat satellite has three beams – one directed at the Middle East, another at Europe, and a third at South America and the east coast of the USA. Al-Aqsa TV now broadcasts on the Middle East beam and Seraj Al-Aqsa TV on the European beam. The Al-Aqsa TV management announced on the channel itself, as well as on its website, that they would soon start broadcasting to South America and the east coast of the US – presumably through the American beam of Atlantic Bird 2.

Conclusions

Sahar-1 TV, Al-Rahma TV and Al-Aqsa TV have all made a mockery of the decisions of the French authorities, exploiting Eutelsat’s reluctant compliance with the CSA decisions and its acquiescence to the banned channels’ diversionary tactics and maneuvers.

Eutelsat carries out the CSA instructions to remove inciting channels, but turns a blind eye when these channels return through the back door, under a different name, through a different mediator, or on another Eutelsat satellite. PM Raffarin's declaration that Al-Manar TV's broadcasts were "incompatible with French values" established the ethical grounds for the legal measures taken by the French authorities. Since then, the conduct of Eutelsat has reduced the debate to petty legalities.

The ball is now in the court of CSA.

*Y. Feldner is Director of MEMRI TV.

Endnotes:

[5] Following the entry to service of Hotbird 7a and Hotbird 8 satellites, Eutelsat agreed to lease capacity on its old Hotbird 4 satellite to Nilesat, whose own satellites, Nilesat 101 and Nilesat 102, had no more free slots for new channels. The name Hotbird 4 was changed to Atlantic Bird 4, and the satellite was relocated to 7.2 W, in proximity to the two Nilesat satellites. This enabled Nilesat clients to receive the Atlantic Bird 4 signal when their satellite dishes were directed at Nilesat 101 and 102. In April 2009, Atlantic Bird 4 was relocated again, as Eurobird 16, to 16 E, and Atlantic Bird 4a, formerly known as Hotbird 10, replaced it at 7W. While operating in the service of Nilesat, both Atlantic Bird 4 and Atlantic Bird 4a were referred to as Nilesat 103 as well.

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