Qatar Media Corporation (QMC) is the official broadcasting outlet of the State of Qatar. Created in 2009, the company today runs two television stations and six radio channels.
Media assets
Television: Qatar TV, Qatar 2, Al-Kass Sports
Radio: QBS Radio, A-Rayyan Radio, Qatar Radio, Urdu Radio, Oryx Radio, Holy Quran Radio, Sout Al Khaleej
News agency: Qatar News Agency
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
QMC is owned by the State of Qatar, which makes all the decisions related to the appointment of the company’s top management. The company was established through the Emiri Resolution No 9 of 2009. The company is, according to the resolution, affiliated with the Council of Ministers, which is the government of Qatar. The President and CEO of the company are appointed through an Emiri decision based on nominations made by the Council of Ministers. Now, the president of the company is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani who is a member of the ruling family of Qatar, the House of Thani.
Source of funding and budget
According to its establishment decree, QMC should be funded through a combination of state subsidies, revenues generated on its own (through advertising or other activities), donations and bank loans. There is no publicly available information about the budget of QMC. According to experts at Northwestern University in Qatar (NUQ), roughly 75% of the QMC’s budget comes from the State of Qatar. Our sources at QMC indicated that the company had revenues of US$ 4m in 2021.
Editorial independence
As a ministry-run broadcast company, QMC closely follows a set of editorial rules imposed on the station by the Qatari government. There is no tolerance to criticism when it comes to several topics including Islam and government.
There is no domestic and no independent assessment/oversight mechanism that would validate the independence of QMC.
August 2023