Christian satellite television and digital media network SAT-7 has celebrated 25 years of broadcasting across the Middle East and North Africa.
Its first transmission was a two-hour programme on 31 May 1996, modest but significant in that it was the first time that Christians from the region had shared their faith publicly on TV. Now, 25 years later, SAT-7 airs four channels in the three main languages of the Middle East and is watched by over 25 million people.
Rita El-Mounayer, now SAT-7’s International CEO, appeared on that initial broadcast. ‘When I look back to the early days,’ she says, ‘I can see a clear line through all of this history: God’s blessing; His faithfulness; how He has enabled us to be used as a voice for and to the people of the region; to be the trusted platform for the church; and to be able to respond with His hope and His word in all the times of deepening crisis this region has seen.’
