Saudi TV Channel 2 (KSA 2), or as of 2014 known as Saudi 2 was the English news and entertainment TV channel of Saudi Arabia. Established in 1983, the channel used to produce programmes focusing on cultural, political, and economic issues aimed at expatriates living in Saudi Arabia. Following its conversion to a 24-hour channel it expanded its broadcasting to Europe and North America in the middle of 2007 and now employs a large network of news correspondents based in the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite being the only English-language public channel for Saudi Arabian expatriates, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Awwad Bin Saleh Al-Awwad has suspended the channel's transmission in December 2017 as part of a plan to suit the Saudi Vision 2030.

History

The Saudi government began planning the second network in 1979, with the launch expected for the first few months of 1980. The goal was to reserve one channel for informative, cultural and educational programming and the other channel for entertainment. According to the Third Development Plan which oversaw the creation of the new channel, the new service would concentrate its efforts on "cultural programs, current events and features about national development, and public information campaigns", with the existing channel concentrating on entertainment and public information, with an "appropriate mix of programs" for both. The launch of the channel was delayed following the events of the Grand Mosque seizure of 1979, leading to its launch in August 1983, three years after it was initially planned. The new goal was to target foreigners working in Saudi Arabia. The channel was the first in Saudi Arabia to carry commercial advertising in 1986, though in Arabic instead of English, the dominant language of the service.

Former programming

Foreign

Cartoons

Children's

Soap Opera

Cooking

Comedy

Drama

Documentary

Reality

Game shows

Variety

Anthology

Education

Magic

Sports