Television in Lebanon arose as a private initiative and not a state-institution. Lebanon was the first country in the Middle East & the Arab world to have indigenous television broadcasting. Various Arab televisions emulated the Lebanese model. There are two significant television platforms in Lebanon: analogue terrestrial (14% of households) and free satellite (83% of households). There is also a relatively high penetration of cable television, but because of the high prevalence of cable theft the official penetration rate is low, at less than 5%. More than 90% of Lebanese households have access to satellite television. There are 22 free-to-air satellite channels headquartered in Lebanon. There is one government-owned television channel, Tele Liban, which was established in 1959. Several TV channels are politically affiliated, and political parties are an important source of funding. Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) was launched in 1985, was the first private network in Lebanon. Some other Lebanese channels include MTV Lebanon, Future TV, Al Manar TV, NBN, Al Jadeed TV, and Orange TV. Domestic channels, in particular LBCI, have historically been the most popular, as opposed to most other Arab countries where pan-Arab channels dominate. Despite that, large pan-Arab broadcasters, and in particular MBC channels, have proven popular with satellite viewers.
History
1950s–1980s While television in the Arab world was a government monopoly, Lebanon was an exception. In 1956, the Lebanese government granted broadcast licenses to two private companies, La Compagnie Libanaise de Télévision (CLT) and Compagnie de Télévision du Liban et du Proche-Orient (Télé-Orient). CLT began broadcasting on 28 May 1959, making it the first commercial television station in the Arabic-speaking world. Soon after Télé-Orient, with financing from the American Broadcasting Company, began broadcasting. CLT, which was licensed to Alex Aridi and Wissam Izzedine, operated two VHF channels, Canal 7 and Canal 9. Canal 9 was a French-language channel. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, media production migrated from Cairo to Beirut; that helped fuel television production in Lebanon. In 1967, CLT became the third television station in the world after the Soviet Union and France to broadcast in color, utilizing the French SECAM technology. Export of taped programming to other Arab countries continued and was profitable during this decade. Both CLT and Tele Orient sold locally produced programs to television institutions in the Arab world. Beirut was the one challenger to Cairo as a major source of pan-Arab television, especially among countries wary of Egyptian propaganda. Lebanese programs—designed to avoid causing offense in conservative cultures—were especially popular in Saudi Arabia, which refused to buy from Egypt. Lebanese signal overspill reached Syria, Jordan, and Israel. During the war, rival factions utilized broadcast media for their own purposes. In 1976, Brigadier general Abdel Aziz al‐Ahdab staged a coup, demanding the resignation of then-President Suleiman Frangieh. al‐Ahdab announced the coup on television after his forces overtook CLT, a private television company. In retaliation, supporters of President Frangieh took control of Télé-Orient, and this split continued until the election of President Élias Sarkis. Due to the political strife, both CLT and Télé-Orient were facing financial difficulties so in 1977, both stations came to an agreement with the Lebanese government to merge into one national television station, which was named Télé-Liban. Despite the war, Lebanese telenovelas continued to be produced and were shown across the Arab world. One of the most popular television shows of this period was Studio El Fan, a singing competition show. Additionally, media entrepreneurs in Lebanon, sometimes financed by Kuwaitis, began importing and dubbing foreign productions into Arabic. Nicholas Abu Samah, owner of Filmali, was a pioneer of video dubbing into Arabic. Filmali dubbed a series of anime, such as Arabian Nights: Sinbad's Adventures, Maya the Honey Bee, and Grendizer that were exported to national televisions across the Arab world. Télé Liban broadcast a large number of American programs, miniseries and films in the early eighties, such as Dallas, Dynasty, Fame, Falcon Crest, Flamingo Road, The Love Boat, Happy Days, Solid Gold, and Roots. Télé Liban would remain the only TV station in Lebanon until 1985 when the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, began broadcasting programs, albeit without a license and thus illegally. LBCI ended Télé Liban's monopoly and quickly became Lebanon's most watched channel due to its advanced technology, innovative programming and coverage of the news. Television production companies continued to dub anime series, such as Hello! Sandybell and Belle and Sebastian, and to export them to Arab televisions.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
