Private sector and radio and television broadcasting The developed state of the Omani media is an accurate mirror of the developed state of Omani society. To stay ahead in the media race, the Private Institutions Radio and Television Law was declared in 2004, providing opportunities for the Omani private sector to enter the broadcasting industry, enabling private institutions to own and manage radio and television channels. The principal beneficiaries of this broadening of scope are the Sultanate’s listeners and viewers. The result has been several new radio channels offering programmes on the FM wave band, operated by the Omani private sector.

These channels are: - Radio Hella in Arabic and Radio Hi FM in English, both of which are owned by the Media Entertainment Network. - Radio Al Wusool in Arabic - which is owned by Sabco Media. - Radio Merge FM in English, also owned by Sabco. - Radio Muscat, owned by Muttrah Information Services, is a public service broadcaster covering all provinces of the Sultanate on FM frequency band. These services have brought choice to radio offerings across the Sultanate. In addition, retransmission permits were granted to certain international radio corporations, such as the BBC and Radio Monte Carlo. The Magan Channel is the only television channel owned privately. It has been broadcasting around the clock since 2008.