As Portugal says goodbye to its analogue television network, Qatar is preparing for the launch of a new channel – the Rayyan Satellite Channel.

Portugal’s switchover to digital bring it into line with Spain, France and Germany and ends 55 years of analogue broadcasting, and comes with a few glitches that ‘the government hopes to overcome in the next few months’.

Criticised by consumer association DECO, the switchover process has been tagged ‘imperfect’ and has caused disturbances to users. With the introduction of DTT, Portugal follows in the footsteps of Spain, France and Germany, who have already carried out the switchover, and is ahead by a few months in Italy, which has plans to make the change later this year.

The Rayyan Satellite Channel, meanwhile, will see formal launch on 18 May 2012. Owner Rayyan Media & Marketing Company (RMMC) says that it will focus on ‘sustainable development and raise public awareness of a wide range of issues’.

It is further billed to ‘promote traditional values, and [will] strive to infuse in the youth a commitment to social integration, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 (Qatar’s social, economic and environmental development programme).

In addition to terrestrial television, the Qatar Satellite Channel has been broadcasting since 1998, while the Al Jazeera satellite network began transmission from Doha in 1996.