Al Arabiya site to launch English subtitle service for Arabic TV news

Al Arabiya News will today launch a state-of-the-art subtitling service that allows English-speaking audiences to follow Arabic news bulletins and programs broadcast by its parent TV channel.

The new service, part of this website’s View More video section, will broadcast regular news bulletins and programs first aired in Arabic by the Al Arabiya News Channel, the region’s leading news station.

It is set to be launched during the first “Al Arabiya News Global Discussion” forum, which will be held today and hosts an international group of political, cultural and media personalities.

“The new subtitled video service on the English website will grant Al Arabiya a cutting edge, allowing us to broadcast simultaneously in several languages and enhance our presence on additional platforms,” said Abdulrahman al-Rashed, General Manager of the Al Arabiya News Channel, which this year celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

“In the past ten years, Al Arabiya became renowned for its unique coverage of the region and the world, as well as its exclusive interviews, and with the launch of this service, we will enable millions of viewers to benefit from our rich content in their own language and through their preferred platforms,” he added.

The translated broadcast service, which is one of many features of Al Arabiya’s redesigned English website, provides a number of key news bulletins and programs, fully subtitled in English, one hour after their original broadcast time in Arabic.

Users of the site will also be able to search the Al Arabiya News Channel’s entire 24-hour output in English, with the ability to download video clips and see subtitles showing translations of the original Arabic broadcasts.

With the launch of the new service, Al Arabiya will become the first TV channel to use this service, employing technology pioneered in the United States.

Faisal J. Abbas, Editor-in-Chief of the English-language Al Arabiya News website, said the new design and features of the site “seek to answer the needs of the modern internet browser, in the era of apps and handheld devices.”

He added: “On behalf of the web team, I would like to thank the channel’s management for their confidence and vision which enabled us to provide this service, and I would like to thank our colleagues at the technical department and operations for the great efforts in making this service available.”

The “Al Arabiya News Global Discussion” will be held in Dubai, where the channel is headquartered, under the theme “bridging the communication gap between East and West.”

The forum will consist of two panel discussions: the first will discuss political lobbying and how Arabs can be better at it globally, while the second will examine the Western media’s coverage and understanding of the Arab world. The forum will also host a special expert session entitled “What it means to be a Regional Spokesperson?”

All debates will be recorded and made available online at http://english.alarabiya.net/
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The Al Arabiya News Global Discussion will take place in Dubai on Nov. 30, 2013. Follow the coverage at http://english.alarabiya.net/ and find out more about the event here.