Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA)

The Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), formerly rendered in English as the Saudi Broadcasting Corporation and earlier associated with the Broadcasting Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the principal official government broadcaster of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Operating as a Saudi government entity under the media authorities, SBA runs the kingdom’s main official television, radio and digital broadcast services, making it a central pillar of Saudi Arabia’s state media landscape.

Media assets

Television and digital: Al Saudiya, Al Ekhbariya, Saudi Sports Channels, SBC, Sunnah TV, Quran TV, Thikrayat TV, Saudi Now

Radio: Riyadh Radio, Jeddah Radio, Holy Quran Radio, Saudi Radio, Nida al-Islam Radio, Al Ekhbariya Radio, Saudi international radio services, Khuzama Radio, Huna Al-Azm Radio and Saudi Radio+

Ownership and governance

SBA functions as a Saudi government entity with legal personality and financial independence, organisationally linked to the Minister of Media. It was established in its current form in 2012, when the Council of Ministers approved the conversion of the kingdom’s radio and television activities into a public authority based in Riyadh.

Its governance is anchored in a board of directors chaired by the Minister of Media. The board includes representatives of the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Media, as well as a representative of the Communications, Space and Technology Commission. The current Minister of Media, Salman bin Yousuf Al-Dosari, chairs the board, cementing SBA’s close institutional ties to the state.

A significant leadership change took place during the 2025/26 cycle. On 1 November 2025, Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosari appointed Ali bin Abdullah Al-Zaid as Chief Executive Officer of SBA, replacing Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, who had led the authority since August 2020. Al-Zaid previously held senior roles in Saudi media, including positions at Al-Watan, Asharq Al-Awsat, Makkah newspaper and the Saudi Press Agency, where he served in senior leadership roles including Acting President.

SBA presents a mission of informing, educating and entertaining through trusted Saudi content, while strengthening national identity. However, its mandate, board structure, leadership appointments and institutional link to the Minister of Media bind it closely to state policy objectives. The absence of an independent board or multi-stakeholder oversight body underscores its status as a government-controlled entity rather than an autonomous public-service media institution.

Source of funding and budget

As of mid-2026, SBA had not published official audited financial statements that would clarify its annual operating budget, revenue streams or expenditure structure. Public institutional material describes SBA as having financial independence and an independent budget issued under state-budget arrangements.

Based on SMM-retained interviews conducted in May 2024 with independent journalists and media analysts familiar with Saudi Arabia’s media environment, SBA is understood to be fully financed by the Saudi government. Its budget is therefore best understood as public funding allocated through state procedures, even though detailed figures and audited accounts are not publicly disclosed.

Editorial independence

The editorial output of SBA is subject to extensive state oversight and conforms closely to the kingdom’s official messaging. Content produced by SBA outlets adheres to the regulatory and censorship frameworks set by government authorities, including the General Authority of Media Regulation. Coverage routinely avoids criticism of the ruling family, national policy or the kingdom’s strategic partners, and instead prioritises narratives aligned with Vision 2030, national identity, social cohesion and the modernisation image promoted by the leadership.

There is no statutory framework, independent regulator or ombudsman that provides assurance of editorial autonomy for SBA. The organisation therefore cannot be considered editorially independent under recognised international standards for public service broadcasting.

AI and digital policy

SMM found no evidence that SBA has published a dedicated public AI governance or editorial-use policy as of mid-2026.

The authority has, however, pursued substantial technical and digital modernisation. A major development during the cycle was the upgrade of SBA’s Makkah broadcast facility through a partnership with Grass Valley and First Gulf Company, designed to support round-the-clock online broadcasts from the Grand Mosque and strengthen SBA’s live-production capabilities for religious and cultural programming. SBA has also expanded digital audio and streaming services, including DAB+ radio deployment and Saudi Radio+, a digital platform for live and on-demand audio and video content.

SBA is also increasingly positioned within Saudi Arabia’s wider AI and media-technology strategy. In 2026, the Ministry of Media and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority launched AI Principles in Media, and Saudi media authorities promoted 2026 as part of the kingdom’s broader Year of Artificial Intelligence. SBA executives have publicly described the authority’s strategic roadmap as moving toward an AI-driven, cloud-native host-broadcaster model, supported by OTT distribution, global content delivery networks, data-driven personalisation, social-first storytelling and cloud-based production infrastructure. SBA’s business-service development also refers to media monitoring, surveys and AI-powered analytics.

These developments show that SBA is actively integrating digital, cloud, data and AI-related tools into its production, distribution and operational systems. However, they do not establish a public editorial AI policy. SMM identified no publicly available framework governing AI use in editorial decision-making, verification, attribution, synthetic-media labelling, source transparency, bias mitigation or human editorial oversight.

Classification rationale

SBA is classified State-Controlled (SC), a classification maintained from prior SMM cycles. It is a government entity established by state decision, organisationally linked to the Minister of Media, chaired by the Minister of Media, funded through public resources and led by senior leadership appointed by the state. Its editorial output aligns with official messaging and avoids material critical of the state, and no statutory or independent mechanism safeguards its editorial autonomy. The 2025/26 leadership change, technical upgrades and AI and digital expansion did not alter these determinants, which keep SBA firmly in the SC category.

June 2026