Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BAGHDAD591
2007-02-19 13:18:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

PRT TIKRIT: SALAH AD DIN TV'S STAR IS RISING, BID

Tags:  PGOV OIIP KPRV ECON SCUL IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1305
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0591/01 0501318
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 191318Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9736
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000591 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2017
TAGS: PGOV OIIP KPRV ECON SCUL IZ
SUBJECT: PRT TIKRIT: SALAH AD DIN TV'S STAR IS RISING, BID
FOR PRIVATIZATION

REF: 06 BAGHDAD 4231

Classified By: Team Leader Stephanie Miley for reasons 1.5 (b/d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000591

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/18/2017
TAGS: PGOV OIIP KPRV ECON SCUL IZ
SUBJECT: PRT TIKRIT: SALAH AD DIN TV'S STAR IS RISING, BID
FOR PRIVATIZATION

REF: 06 BAGHDAD 4231

Classified By: Team Leader Stephanie Miley for reasons 1.5 (b/d).


1. (U) This is a PRT Tikrit, Salah ad Din cable. This cable
has been cleared by the 3rd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne
Division (3/82 BCT) and the Tactical PSYOP Detachment 1630,
who have Salah ad Din in their area of operation.


2. (C) SUMMARY. With its exclusive coverage of Saddam's
burial and the aftermath in his home province of Salah ad Din
(SaD),SaD satellite television station's (SaDTV) star has
been in rising in the pan Sunni Arab world. SaDTV broadcasts
through NileSat and reaches the greater Middle East. Since
the station's establishment in 2005 with Coalition Forces'
(CF) IIG money, it has had complete editorial control of its
programming (reftel). Recent improvements to SaDTV's program
quality have made it on par with similar stations in the
region. Recently, a representative of al Thuraya Group of
Dubai contacted the station's manager Dawlat Dahash to
announce the group's desire to invest between USD 10 - 40
million in the station via the Ashur Bank for International
Investment. The Al Thuraya Group's interest in investing in
the station, however, brings to light many legal ambiguities
with regard to the station's equipment and ownership. SaDTV
has become a major source of information and pride among the
people of Salah ad Din, achieving its intended purpose of
providing accurate and timely information to the province's
citizens to combat AIF misinformation and propaganda. The
PRT, 3/82 Brigade Combat Team, and the Tactical PSYOP
Detachment 1630 see privatization as the best hope for
SaDTV's future and are currently seeking a legal decision
from Multinational Corps Iraq (MNC-I) to determine how best
to proceed with the station's privatization. END SUMMARY.


3. (C) With Salah ad Din Television's (SaDTV) exclusive
coverage of Saddam's burial and the aftermath in his home
province of SaD, SaDTV, the province's local satellite
television station, has grown in popularity in the pan Sunni

Arab world. During the weeks after Saddam's interment, the
station received hundreds of text messages from across the
Middle East. It is clear through our interactions with many
of the province's residents that the station is enormously
popular.

--------------
The Station's Creation
--------------


4. (C) SaDTV was created in 2005 using Coalition Forces' IIG
funds as part of the "Tikrit Media Center," and the station
first began airing programming in September 2005. In the
beginning, the station's programming included only a few
locally developed programs, with a bulk of the shows
broadcasted from an archive the station purchased. The
station is broadcasted on NileSat satellite network, and its
coverage reaches viewers throughout the Middle East. The
station has always had complete editorial control of its
programming.


5. (C) Shortly after the station became operational, there
was a change in management, and an influential tribal sheikh
took control. In 2006, the station received additional IIG
funds to enhance its equipment to expand news coverage.
Until a fair contract re-bid in mid-2006, the station
floundered under the tribal sheikh's poor management and
dictatorial style.

--------------
A Positive Change in Management
--------------


6. (C) In October 2006, the contract was awarded to Dawlat
Dahash of Beirut Company, and the management changeover
process was managed by the provincial government. One of the
contract provisions indicated that SaDTV would only receive
CF funding for one additional year (through October 2007),
after which it would have to find additional sources.


7. (C) As the new manager Dahash has made significant strides
in improving the quality of the station's programming,
including production of local news and entertainment shows
and acquisition of additional stock programming archives.
The programming, especially the news, has become a much more
professional production. Purchase, for example, of a
teleprompter allows the newscaster to engage the audience
more fully by not having to read off printed scripts, and use
of the satellite news gathering van has increased the
station's area of news coverage.

--------------
SaDTV's Star on the Rise

BAGHDAD 00000591 002 OF 002


--------------


8. (C) In the wake of the announcement of the Saddam verdict,
the central government ordered the closure of the station for
reportedly "airing programming that incited violence"
(reftel). To prevent a similar problem during Saddam's
execution, Dawlat sought guidance for the station's
programming, and many provincial leaders commented on how
professionally the station covered the execution's aftermath.


9. (C) Through the station's exclusive footage of Saddam's
burial and the aftermath, it gained a greater following in
the pan Sunni Arab world. In the days following the
execution, the station received hundreds of text messages
from throughout the region.

--------------
A Move for Privatization
--------------


10. (C) Cognizant of the fact that CF funding would be ending
in 2007, Dawlat began pursuing other funding options. First,
he approached the Salah ad Din Provincial Council and
presented a budget for further improvement and expansion of
the station. The PC's leadership reportedly responded by
saying that if the PC funds the station, it "controls the
station and its message." Dawlat presented a similar plan to
the Governor and Deputy Governor, and they reportedly had a
similar response.


11. (C) Seeking editorial independence, Dawlat decided to
purse private sector funding, first through advertising and
second through business partnerships. Recently, a
representative of al Thuraya Group contacted Dawlat and
requested he travel to Dubai to discuss the station's future.
At the meeting, Dawlat learned the Iraqi expatriates in the
business group were seeking to invest in the station as a
means to further their interest in the reconstruction and
rebuilding of Iraq, particularly in Salah Ad Din. According
to Dawlat, the group stated they will invest between USD 10 -
40 million in the station via the Ashur Bank for
International Investment. The group said it would only seek
investment in the station if Dawlat is the manager with a
controlling interest in ownership. (NOTE: Al Thuraya Group
is the holding company for "Today Broadcasting Center" in
Baghdad and owns several other Iraq-based businesses. END
NOTE.)


12. (C) The Al Thuraya Group's interest in investing in the
station brings to light many legal ambiguities with regard to
the station's equipment and ownership. At present, the
station is not listed as an Iraqi business entity, and it is
unclear who actually owns the station's equipment. The
station has a board of directors appointed by the provincial
government, but they have not been engaged in oversight or
operations.

--------------
Comment
--------------


13. (C) SaDTV has become a major source of information and
pride among the people of Salah ad Din, achieving its
intended purpose of providing accurate and timely information
to the province's citizens to combat AIF misinformation and
propaganda. Under Dawlat's leadership, we are confident that
in the long-term SaDTV will develop into a neutral, pan Arab
television station with great potential for disseminating
information and promoting education in Iraq's Sunni
heartland. The PRT, 3/82 Brigade Combat Team, and the
Tactical PSYOP Detachment 1630 see privatization as the best
hope for SaDTV's future and are currently seeking a legal
decision from MNC-I to determine how best to proceed with the
station's privatization. END COMMENT.


14. (U) For additional reporting from PRT Tikrit, Salah ad
Din, please see our SIPRNET Reporting Blog:
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Tikrit.
KHALILZAD