Watch Al Sharqiya Live Stream Online
Al Sharqiya is the first private television channel in Iraq, owned by the Iraqi media entrepreneur based in London, Saad al-Bazzaz, a former radio and television man during the regime of Saddam Hussein until he was fired in 1992.1 Al-Bazzaz is also the editor-in-chief of the Azzaman newspaper. The channel was launched in March 2004 and began its regular broadcasts on May 4, 2004.
Al Sharqiya has increased its audience thanks to the mix of public affairs and comedy programs, thereby providing entertainment to the public of the new Iraq.2
The director of Al Sharqiya points out that his current 100-worker plant captures a wide audience thanks to the production of political satire and impartial media coverage, unlike what happened during the decades of Saddam Hussein's regime.
In August 2008, four members of the canal team were killed in Mosul while they were working, and the channel's press chief, Ali Wajih, blamed the Al-Iraqiya (belonging to the Iraqi Government) channel, noting that the channel was "morally responsible "for those deaths.