RIYADH — Saudi Minister of Media and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) Salman Al-Dosari inaugurated the SBA Training Academy and the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) technology on Monday. The ceremony was held in the presence of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) Governor Dr. Ahmed Al-Fuhaid and Assistant Minister of Finance and Member of the Board of Directors of SBA Hindi Al-Suhaimi, Deputy Governor of the Communications, Space and Information Technology Commission Eng. Omar Al-Rajaji, and a number of senior officials and former heads of the authority at its headquarters in Riyadh. During the ceremony, Minister Al-Dosari inaugurated the training academy and launched the third generation technology of radio broadcasting DAB+. The authority was presented with the accreditation certificate for the training academy. Speaking on the occasion, CEO of SBA Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the authority has monitored and documented the breathtaking changes and development in the Kingdom since its inception until to date as an influential media outlet that monitors the tremendous development in the Kingdom, led by the Saudi Vision 2030. Al-Harthi emphasized that the authority believes that success is a journey, not a destination, and that it seeks continuous development and renewal in all its fields, parallel to various government agencies and institutions. The authority is competing with the private sector in speed, digitization and performance, which poses a stimulating and important challenge to improve content and outputs and expand the scope of courses, to include all aspects of the media industry. Al-Harthi praised the support that the authority finds from the minister of media to ensure the continuity of development and investment in the human element, and work to improve the outputs by giving the opportunity for development in all fields as an investment. He noted that this was based on the previous successes started by all the former leaders of the authority who laid the first brick of success. Al-Harthi said the authority is keen to keep pace with every development and every new technology by launching the DAB+ service, which will bring about a quantum leap in radio work, by increasing the number of broadcasts by using only one transmitter instead of 16, which opens the way for broadcasting new licensed services, and by increasing the coverage area by 35 percent, reducing operational costs and energy costs, which means preserving the environment and saving consumption reflected in the media field. Al-Harthi said the authority provides an institutional role in the development of all members of the media community, as it worked to present many initiatives related to investment in the human element, the latest of which is "Be a Broadcaster" initiative, which is a qualification for the participants of the course to serve all institutions of the local media community. Al-Harthi thanked partners of the authority in the training academy and digital radio broadcasting technology projects, represented by TVTC and the Communications, Space and Information Technology Commission. The academy aims to achieve unique media goals, create a pioneering model, prepare global competencies, in addition to spreading professional culture amidst a creative environment that generates innovation, media awareness and excellence to reach integrated qualification. It also aims to produce professionals in all media fields, such as television production, radio production, journalism, theater and cinema, in addition to digital media, mass communication, and the provision of studies and consultations, through the best experts in the media field. The DAB+ technology contributes to providing high quality sound and crystal-clear reception, which contributes to improving the listeners' experience, in addition to providing more frequency space, which provides an opportunity for media investors to obtain various broadcasting options, facilitate requirements and increase spread through multiple radio channels. Moreover, the environmental support provided by the technology contributes to the reduction of operational costs and the consumption of electricity and energy.
