Turki Al-Shabanah appointed new media minister of Saudi Arabia

Turki Al-Shabanah appointed new media minister of Saudi Arabia

RIYADH, JAN 01 - Saudi Arabia has appointed Turki Al-Shabanah as the new minister of media in the recent Cabinet reshuffle.

He is a media personality known for his association with Rotana, a popular TV network, as the chief executive officer.

The media group operates a network of 13 leading channels, several radio stations, and the world’s largest Arabic movie and music libraries.

Variety magazine recently ranked Al-Shabanah one of the 500 most influential media personalities of the world.

He has held several key positions in the Arab media industry. In 1996, he was in charge of the MBC office in the US. 

He also served as assistant to the general supervisor of MBC in London before it moved to Dubai.

In 1999, he was appointed as MBC deputy program production director, a position he held until 2003.  Al-Shabanah launched Khalijia channel in May 2005.

It was initially a music channel broadcasting mainly music videos from the Gulf region.

In 2008, Khalijia became a general-viewing channel broadcasting Saudi and Gulf region art and heritage, and taking the lead among others targeting the Gulf audience. 

He also served an adviser to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal between 2003 and 2007.

He also served as the general supervisor of MBC FM radio station and supervised the production of a number of programs produced at its stations in Cairo, Beirut, Amman and Riyadh. 

He was also the director of Rotana and LBC TV channels. He also co-founded Charisma Productions Co. with Ayman Al-Zyoud.

Al-Shabanah holds a bachelor’s degree in law from King Saud University in Riyadh, and a master’s degree in international trade law from Washington University, US.

Before starting a career in the media, he started out as an attorney in the US.

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