Dubai: Move over Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.

Lay witness to yet another Arabic 24/7 television news channel to enter the high-stakes game of international broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena).

France 24, the round-the-clock, international French TV channel, will flip the switch on a brand new Arabic-only channel tomorrow at noon Paris time.

The rollout will be officially kicked off at a press conference in Paris today.

The third new channel follows the original start-up in 2006 of the French-speaking France 24 channel and later followed by an English France 24 channel that also aired some segments in Arabic.

Alain de Pouzilhac, President and Director of Aud-iovisuel exterieur de la France that owns France 24, stopped in Dubai yesterday on a tour of major Middle East cities to promote the new Arabic channel.

In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Pouzilhac said the Arabic free-to-air channel will be broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa via Hot Bird, Arabsat and Nilesat satellites.

International news from the Middle East will be viewed through a French prism, giving viewers an alternative to the long-standing English take on affairs in the region.

Edge

A differing viewpoint will give France 24 the edge over competitors and other Western broadcasters, he said.

More than 100 France 24 staff are working on the new Arab channel from its Paris headquarters.

"People want comparisons, they want the French point of view," said Pouzilhac.

"When there is news from Gaza, more people will watch France 24 because they want a different look. That's a huge difference from my generation."

Pouzilhac, 65, who was appointed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to expand the audience of French media organisations, said that when he was younger he watched British or American television news which had a particular bent.

A new perspective

"That meant I had a British vision of the world. A new generation of people now has a more objective view because they can make comparisons," he said.

The addition of a dedicated 24-hour France 24 news channel couldn't come at a better time, he said, given the region's rising importance in the world, not only as an oil-producing region but also as an economic powerhouse.

"Everyone has to understand the Arab point of view. These Arab countries are very young," he said, noting that an up-and-coming generation in the Middle East is becoming extremely tech and internet savvy and wants to be informed.

He said that internet use grew 1,300 per cent in Arab countries between 2007 and 2009, evidence that Arab-speaking people are hungry for information and for relevant content that helps them understand how they and their culture fit into a global society.

The huge market helped solidify his company's plans to launch the new Arabic version of France 24, he said.

"The Arab [channel] investment is between 13 and 14 million euros," Pouzilhac said.

With an estimated 16 per cent to 60 per cent of 300 million Arab region residents speaking Arabic only, be believes there will be a solid return on investment as France 24 grows into a daily part of life in Mena.

Numbers show that France 24 already enjoys a 38 per cent market share among viewers in North African countries, he said, a figure that will grow with a dedicated Arab news channel.

"We are increasing by 34 per cent this year… as we launch the Arab channel, we hope the trend will continue," he said.

Viewership statistics gathered by France 24 show that its existing news channels have already garnered some respectable support among viewers since its launch.

Pouzilhac said France 24 attracts 20 million viewers per week on its present French and English news channels and will continue its prime-time evening focus to garner more Arab viewers with greater emphasis on regular programming on weekends given that Saturdays and Sundays are "working days in many Arab countries."