Rotana Group, chaired by Prince Alwaleed, announced that it has won the third FM radio licence in Saudi Arabia for SR67 million ($17.86 million).

This will be the launch of the fourth FM radio station for Rotana, its first being in Jordan in 2005, second in Syria in 2006 and the third in Lebanon in 2007.

Based on statistics, these stations are the leading radio stations in their host countries.

'Rotana is the number one and strongest media company in the Middle East,' said Prince Alwaleed.

Before it acheived its licence in Saudi Arabia, Rotana's experience in the field of radio had enabled it to produce entertainment and arts programs in cooperation with significant radio stations in the Arab world that include Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Rotana owns the largest Arabic music library in additon to having technological expertise enabling it to establish high tech studios for sound recording, computer programming, production and sound mixing. Also,  studios for live digital broadcasting.

'The Rotana Radio station in Saudi Arabia will not only be unique in its content but also in quality and advanced technology, that our listeners will detect and notice,' stated Firas Khashman, general manager of Emerging Business.

'Our experience, successful background and quality of content will enable us to focus on achieving prominence in the field of Saudi radio as our strategy goes beyond just launching a radio station.'

Rotana radio will receive significant support in the region as it is part of Rotana Group, a key distributor and producer of Arabic movies, manages many of the most popular artists in the region and controls the biggest Arabic music catalogue.

Rotana also owns a bouquet of leading free-to-air TV channels including LBC Sat, Cinema, Khalijiyah and Musica broadcasting the latest Arabic movies, series and music videos globally and a library comprising more than 1,500 movies.

Rotana produces over half of Arab film annually. Furthermore, Rotana has radio stations as mentioned, a chain of cafes and its own magazine. It also operates a leading regional advertising sales arm (Rotana Media Services), responsible for advertising sales on its TV channels as well other media businesses in the region.

Recently, Rotana Group announced that Newscorp has reached an agreement to buy a 9.09 per cent stake in Rotana Group, the Middle East media group.

Under the terms of the agreement, News Corporation will acquire newly-issued shares in Rotana for $70 million. Newscorp has an option to increase its stake to 18.18 per cent in the 18 months following completion.-Reuters