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The story of Saudi television began in 1962 when King Faisal, who was then the crown prince, pointed out that the government intended to utilize the medium of television as a tool for information, guidance, culture, and recreation (Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Information, 1985). From July 17, 1965, when the first transmission signal went out simultaneously from stations in Riyadh and Jeddah until the transfer to the new Riyadh Television Complex in 1982. Saudi television has gone through many phases of development. The most recent development was the introduction of commercial advertising in 1986. Saudi television commercials have taken the form of 10 to 20 minute blocks which are taped and then aired many times during the broadcasting hours. Because Saudi television is a governmental operation, all of the funds required to maintain its expenditures are provided by the Saudi government, and commercial advertising is a new development. Thus, there was a need for a study which told the story of commercial advertising's development in Saudi television.

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