Nasrallah on al-Manar during war
Photo: AP
Al-Jazeera TV
Photo: Al-Jazeera
War soars al-Manar popularity
Hizbullah TV station included among 10 most viewed channels in Arab world during conflict with Israel
The war between Israel and Hizbullah propelled the Shiite group's television channel al-Manar to the club of the ten most popular channels in the Arab world, a study showed.
The channel leaped from number 83 in popularity to the 10th slot between July 15 and 28.
Israeli marketing and research company Market Trends linked the development to the widespread support for the Shiite group's fight against Israel and the rising support for its leader Hassan Nasrallah in the Arab street.
Saudi-owned al-Arabiya all-news channel topped the list as the most watched channel during the war period with an audience making 40 percent of total viewers in the Arab world.
Al-Arabiya is generally watched by17 percent of Arab viewers, followed by Qatar-based al-Jazeera with 12 percent.
Al-Arabiya was the first Arabic-language channel to cover the outbreak of the war from Beirut.
The study showed that the Arab audience's appetite for news increased. In peace times music channels have the largest viewers.
