‘Trial run of projected PSB channel slated for mid-2017’

AMMAN — The trial run for the projected independent public TV channel is scheduled to start as of mid-2017, Fahed Khitan, the station’s chairman, said on Wednesday.

The editorially independent channel is a public service broadcasting (PSB) station that replaces previous government plans to open a third channel affiliated with the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation (JRTVC) in 2015.

According to Khitan, the trial run would help in evaluating the channel before going officially on air and might take up to three months.

He told The Jordan Times that the selected team and those who will be recruited later are Jordanians.

The channel’s studios, Khitan noted, are based at the King Hussein Business Park.

However, he said that no date can be set for the official launch of the channel until after the end of the trial run.

According to international media outlets and UNESCO, PSB refers to broadcasting made, financed and controlled by the public for the benefit of the public rather than for commercial interest, making it neither commercial nor state-owned.

The government will reportedly allocate JD10 million over a two-year period to fund the channel.