Al Arabiya (العربية) is a state-owned international Arabic-language television news channel launched on March 3, 2003, in Saudi Arabia, with initial operations based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Founded by the brother-in-law of Saudi King Fahd as a direct response to Al Jazeera’s critical reporting on Saudi Arabia throughout the 1990s, the broadcaster is owned through the Middle East Broadcasting Center, also known as the MBC Group. While MBC Group has identified itself as “the largest and leading private multimedia company in the Middle East North Africa region,” it is 54 percent held by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The channel’s mission from its start was to offer a “balanced and less provocative” alternative to Al Jazeera — meaning more amenable to the interests of the Saudi royal family. Al Arabiya broadcasts a mix of standard news, talk shows, and documentaries, and its website is available in Arabic, English, Urdu, and Persian.