Monte Carlo Doualiya
Monte Carlo Doualiya, formerly RMC Moyen-Orient, is a French public radio service which broadcasts news, talk, and sports programming to the Arab world. It was established in 1972 and operates as a subsidiary of France Médias Monde, a state-owned holding company.
From its headquarters in Paris, the station produces Arabic-language content which is broadcast 24 hours a day to audiences across the Middle East and Maghreb. Its distribution network includes local FM transmitters, shortwave radio, satellite platforms, and through its official website.
History
1968-1972: The SOFIRAD project
In the late 1960s, the French government sought to establish an international pan-Arab radio station to compete with the broadcasting influence of the United Kingdom, the United States, and the USSR. The Société Financiere de Radiodiffusion, which managed state holdings in broadcast media, selected the Radio Monte-Carlo project due to its strong reputation throughout the Mediterranean and OFIRAD's 84% majority stake in the broadcaster.Following an agreement with Prince Rainier III of Monaco in June 1968, negotiations began with Nicosia Radio to install a broadcasting antenna at Cape Greco, Cyprus. In February 1969, SOFIRAD and the French Broadcasting and Television Office formed the Monegasque Society for Broadcasting Studies to plan and implement the project. One year later, this entity was replaced by the Monegasque Society for Exploitation and Broadcasting Studies to oversee the completion of the initiative.
1972-2006: RMC Middle East
Radio Monte-Carlo Middle East commenced broadcasting in 1972. It quickly established itself as a radio service in several Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf nations, including Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. SOMERA, the entity managing the station, received annual funding of 28 francs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Over time, the service faced competition from local broadcasters and international radio stations such as the BBC World Service and Voice of America. This competition, coupled with a chronic deficit and declining advertising revenue, led to a major restructuring in the 1990s.At the end of 1996, SOFIRAD sold RMC Moyen-Orient to the Radio France Internationale group for the sum of 1 franc. Its audience was estimated to be at 16 million people. The radio station, previously broadcast on medium wave, short wave and by satellite, began to broadcast on FM in some countries. In 1998, after moving to the Maison de la Radio in Paris, it was the first public radio station to switch to all-digital.
In 2005, RMC Middle East's audience began to decline due to the proliferation of local FM stations in Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Djibouti, and Kuwait. A new team was appointed in November 2005, with Philippe Beauvillard as general manager and Agnès Levallois as news director. The station's schedule was modernized to appeal to a younger audience. 50% of the radio's audience was over 35 years old.
Since 2007: Monte Carlo Doualiya
In late 2006 and early 2007, the radio station transitioned to being called Monte Carlo Doualiya.On April 4, 2008, the holding company Audiovisuel extérieur de la France was created under the impetus of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The aim was to group together the activities of France's external audiovisual sector under the same company, namely the television channels TV5 Monde and France 24, and the radio station Radio France Internationale, of which Monte Carlo Doualiya was the subsidiary.
In January 2012, Monte Carlo Doualiya ceased to be a subsidiary of Radio France Internationale when it became a fully-fledged channel of the Audiovisuel extérieur de la France alongside Radio France Internationale and France 24. The legal merger of the group with its channels became effective on February 13, 2012.
In 2013, the radio station launched its own website and adopted a new programme schedule. On June 3, Radio France Internationale and Monte Carlo Doualiya launched a temporary bilingual radio station in Marseille called La Méditerranée ensemble. This coincided with the occasion of Marseille-Provence 2013 and the opening of the Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations. It broadcast Monte Carlo Doualiya programs in Arabic from noon to 6 p.m., and Radio France Internationale programs in French the rest of the day.
In 2017, Monte Carlo Doualiya broadcast in France for the first time.
Slogans
- «Pour le dialogue entre les cultures»
- «La radio qui va changer la radio»
- «Sur la même longueur d'onde»
Organization
Leaders
From 1996 to 2012, the Chairman and CEO of Monte Carlo Doualiya was a part of its parent company, Radio France Internationale. Since 2012, the CEO of Monte Carlo Doualiya has been that of its parent company, France Médias Monde.; Chief Executive Officers
| ; Directors
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Capital
RMC Moyen-Orient and then Monte Carlo Doualiya are the trade names of the Société Monégasque d'exploitation et d'études de radiodiffusion. From 1972 to 1996, the latter was 90% owned by the Société financière de radiodiffusion, which manages the French State's interests in radio and television stations. The remainder was owned by the state of Monaco.From 1996 to 2012, the radio was a subsidiary of the Radio France Internationale group, an independent national programming company until 2008 when it joined the Audiovisuel extérieur de la France.
Since 2012, Monte Carlo Doualiya has been a subsidiary of the national programming company France Médias Monde, 100% owned by the French State via the State Participation Agency.
Budget
From 1996 to 2012, the radio station was a subsidiary of the Radio France Internationale group, from which it received its budget. Since 2012, it has been a subsidiary of France Médias Monde. The latter distributes its budget between its channels: France 24, Radio France Internationale, and Monte Carlo Doualiya.In 2005, the budget of RMC Middle East was 11 million euros, financed by Radio France Internationale, its parent company, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Seat
The radio's headquarters were formerly located in the Palais de la Scala, at 1 avenue Henry Dunant in Monaco.After becoming a subsidiary of Radio France Internationale in 1996, RMC Moyen-Orient moved to the Maison de la Radio located at 116 avenue du Président-Kennedy in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
In February 2013, Monte Carlo Doualiya and Radio France Internationale moved to join France 24 in the France Médias Monde building in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in Hauts-de-Seine.
Staff
In 2006, RMC Middle East employed nearly 150 people, including 45 journalists in Paris and 46 correspondents worldwide.In 2013, Monte Carlo Doualiya employed 48 permanent journalists based in Paris, and relied on a network of 67 correspondents around the world.
In 2014, the Monte Carlo Doualiya editorial team had 68 full-time equivalents, out of the 1,714 employed by France Médias Monde.