FRANCE 24, ARABSAT, ASBU Sign Distribution Deal

PARIS, November 17:
International news channel FRANCE 24, the Arab Satellite Communications
Organization (ARABSAT), and the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) have
signed an agreement to disseminate FRANCE 24 to the Arab world.

The agreement was signed
during a visit to FRANCE 24 by Khalid Balkheyour, CEO and president of ARABSAT,
and Abdelhafid Harguem, CEO of the ASBU. It states that starting December 8th,
2006, the English-language version of FRANCE 24 will be distributed to Arabic-speaking
territories via ARABSAT's BADR-4 satellite, allowing it to reach an audience of
130 million viewers from Morocco to the Persian Gulf, as well as parts of
Europe.

"We are happy to
count ARABSAT and the ASBU among FRANCE 24’s proactive partners,” said FRANCE
24 chairman Alain de Pouzilhac. “Thanks to them, the channel will be
well-established throughout the entire North Africa and Middle East region.
With the Arabic version of our Internet website going live early December, and
our Arabic programming scheduled to air on FRANCE 24 in the first half of 2007,
this collaboration with ARABSAT and the ASBU is essential to our development.”

"We are very
impressed with the technical infrastructure of FRANCE 24, as well as its
ambitious strategy for soon broadcasting in three different languages,” said
Balkheyour. “We feel truly honored to have been selected for broadcasting
FRANCE 24 over the whole Arab world via BADR-4.”

“The ASBU is ready to
consider prospective cooperation with FRANCE 24, in particular with respect to
current events in the Arab world,” added Harguem. “It is expected that a
collaboration agreement will be signed in the weeks ahead.”

The FRANCE 24 website will
also be launched December 8, 2006, in three languages: French, English and
Arabic.