Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA)

The Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) is the government broadcaster of the Emirate of Sharjah. Its predecessor, Sharjah Media Corporation, was established by Emiri Decree No. 25 of 2009 to develop and operate the emirate’s broadcast media. In 2019, Sharjah Media Corporation was reorganised as the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, with its rights, assets, obligations and employees transferred to the new authority. SBA runs several television and radio channels, the most prominent being Sharjah TV, which dates to 1989, and its channels target both Emirati and expatriate audiences.

Media assets

Television and digital video: Sharjah TV, Sharjah Sports, Al Sharqiya from Kalba, Al Wusta from Al Dhaid, Sharjah 2, Maraya

Radio: Sharjah Radio, Quran Radio from Sharjah, Pulse 95, Watar Radio

Ownership and governance

SBA operates as a government authority under the Sharjah Government and within the umbrella of the Sharjah Media Council, the emirate-level media body chaired by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. Its governing bodies are appointed at the emirate level, and its strategic direction is shaped through Sharjah’s official media institutions.

The 2019 legal reorganisation established SBA as an authority with legal personality, following the central government of the Emirate of Sharjah and working under the supervision of the Sharjah Media Council. A further regulatory update came in 2021, when Decree-Law No. 2 of 2021 amended Law No. 1 of 2019 on the organisation of SBA. Under this framework, SBA exercises core functions in audio-visual and digital media after approval by the Sharjah Media Council, and contracts, partnerships and memoranda of understanding require approval by the Sharjah Media Council and the Executive Council. The same amendment added Watar Radio to SBA’s affiliated media entities.

As of 2026, SBA is led by Director-General Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, a long-serving Sharjah broadcaster who has held senior leadership roles at the authority since 2017. In July 2024, he was also named as a member of the reconstituted Sharjah Media Council. The combination of emirate-level appointment, council supervision and direct government ownership places strategic and editorial control within the Sharjah government rather than any independent governance structure.

During the 2025/26 cycle, Sharjah approved a major unified government media hub in Sharjah Media City, Shams. The project brings together the Sharjah Media Council, Sharjah Government Media Bureau, Sharjah Broadcasting Authority and Shams, and includes a new SBA headquarters with administrative, news and Sharjah Sports Channel facilities. This development reinforces SBA’s role within Sharjah’s integrated government media system.

Source of funding and budget

SBA follows a mixed funding model, generating commercial revenue primarily through advertising and media services, supplemented by state support. Based on data gathered by the Media and Journalism Research Center by May 2024, government contributions represent under half of its annual operating budget. Full financial disclosures for recent years remain unavailable, consistent with the limited transparency typical of UAE state-owned media entities.

Editorial independence

SBA faces no explicit public legal constraint codifying its editorial direction, but its output is shaped by top-down management, emirate-level appointment and regulatory supervision. The oversight role of the Sharjah Media Council, combined with government ownership and appointment structures, ensures that SBA’s content consistently aligns with state-approved messaging.

As with other UAE government broadcasters, SBA rarely, if ever, critiques Emirati authorities. Its channels carry cultural, religious, social, sports, entertainment and community-oriented coverage, including programming aimed at both Arabic- and English-speaking audiences, but such coverage remains within the parameters of permissible discourse. No legal statute, external audit or independent oversight body guarantees editorial freedom. Media-freedom advocates therefore regard SBA as an arm of the state rather than an autonomous media organisation.

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 continued to develop its broadcast, digital and production infrastructure within Sharjah’s wider media ecosystem. SBA distributes television and radio content through its digital platform Maraya, and its 2026 programming was promoted across television, radio and digital channels. The 2025 approval of the unified government media hub in Shams, including a new SBA headquarters, new news facilities, Sharjah Sports Channel facilities and the wider Shams Studios production environment, also points to continued investment in digital, production and broadcast capacity.

These developments show active modernisation of SBA’s distribution and production infrastructure. However, SMM identified no SBA-specific public framework governing the use of AI in editorial production, verification, attribution, recommendation systems, audience analytics, synthetic-media labelling, content disclosure or human editorial oversight.

Classification rationale

SBA is classified Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu), a classification maintained from prior SMM cycles. The control determinants remain clearly present and current: SBA is a government authority, its leadership is appointed at the emirate level, it operates under the supervision and approvals of the Sharjah Media Council, and its editorial output aligns consistently with official positions. No independent statutory or oversight mechanism safeguards its autonomy.

June 2026