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Al Jazeera moves satellite broadcast to Es’hailSat

Al Jazeera Media Network is to permanently terminate broadcasting via satellites Badr-4 and Badr-5 as of January 1, 2015. With new channel bundles broadcasting through satellite Es’hailsat 1, this move comes as part of the network’s efforts to provide its viewers in the MENA region with uninterrupted satellite TV broadcasting, as Al Jazeera channels have seen deliberate jamming in the wake of its coverage of the Arab uprisings. Included in the move are Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Mubhaser-Misr, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel and Al Jazeera America.

“Al Jazeera has carefully investigated and considered the intentional jamming of its signal in recent years,” says Ibrahim Nassar, Manager of RF & Teleport Engineering, Al Jazeera Media Network. “The jamming is part of an orchestrated and multifaceted campaign to block the network’s signal and internet websites from it viewers.”

Es’hailSat covers the same geographic area as Arabsat and provides viewers with secure and uninterrupted transmission with more powerful abilities to hold off signal interference attempts. Nassar added that the move to Es’hailSat does not require viewers to adjust their satellite dish location or the satellite receiver.

Nilesat viewers can still watch Al Jazeera channels in the GCC, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Yemen, Sudan and Djibouti via Nilesat (EAST) 11636 V, FEC: 3/4 and Symbol Rate 27500; in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Mauritania, Al Jazeera channels are available via Nilesat (WEST) 10992 V, FEC: 3/4 and Symbol Rate 27500

Es’hailSat to launch operations on Es’hail 1

Qatar-based satellite company Es’hailSat has announced commercial operations on its new satellite, Es’hail 1, will commence on December 30, 2013. The start of broadcast operations catering to the general public follows the commencement of Es’hail 1’s commercial service of the Al Jazeera Media Network channels in October.

Es’hailSat confirmed its sponsorship of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2014, which will coincide with live coverage on the Es’hail 1 satellite. The tournament, hosted by the Qatar Tennis Federation, will take place from December 30, 2013 through to January 4, 2014, and will be broadcast in high-definition across the Middle East and North Africa.

The satellite, launched in August from Kourou in French Guiana, will offer extended broadcast capacity of high-definition channels in the region. A second satellite, Es’hail 2, is due to launch in 2016.