Russian flag. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Russian news agency radio Sputnik launched a radio service in Beirut on the frequency previously used by BBC Arabic radio, according to a statement published on Sputnik's website on Monday.
BBC Arabic's radio channel stopped broadcasting in Lebanon due to cost saving measures by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Sputnik's 24-hour Arabic broadcast is now accessible on the same frequency.
"Back in 1938, when the BBC first launched its radio in Lebanon, it chose the 'This is London' slogan as its opening line. Now the news bulletin starts with 'This is Moscow'," said Chairman of Sputnik Radio in Lebanon Dmitri Tarassov.
Lina Andreichenko, the Russian news agency's managing editor for radio and podcast content, said that Sputnik Radio will "broadcast news, analytical content and the hottest international issues and problems affecting Lebanese society."
Russia's Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov welcomed the launch of Sputnik's radio station on Tuesday, saying he hopes this event "would constitute a new page in relations with the Middle East region, and that the workers in the Lebanon office of Radio Sputnik would contribute to conveying a transparent and true picture of life in Russia."
Talk shows hosted by journalists from the region and programs covering news from Cairo and Moscow, as well as those produced by RT Arabic, will be aired on the radio station.
A BBC spokesperson told L'Orient Today the network wants to reach audiences online, "on the platforms they've chosen," when asked whether closing the radio station in January was the right decision.
Sputnik Arabic began operations on Feb. 4, 2015. It comprises a website and Arabic news feed. Its FM-radio broadcasting is available in Iraq and Syria, on the official website and in mobile apps.
The total audience of Sputnik Arabic's social network pages reaches 3 million people.