[1] The channel is currently owned by Siwar al Assad, a first cousin of the President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad.
He decided to cancel the English programming due what he perceived to be the lack of an audience for it.
[citation needed] However, since the latest change of management in 2010, the new proprietor, Siwar al Assad, has decided to reintroduce English Language programming alongside the Arabic.
In 2014 Siwar launched a program modeled on the BBC's Hardtalk called The English Hour[2] which is recorded in London broadcast at peak time and subtitled in Arabic.
[citation needed] Major restructuring has been undertaken and technological updates have been acquired by the channel in order to improve its image.