The General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM; ar, الهيئة العامة للإعلام المرئي والمسموع, Al-Hayʾah Al-ʿĀmmah Lil-ʾIʿlām Al-Marʾiyy wal-Masmūʿ) is a government organization in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. It was founded in 2012, and is responsible for the development, regulation, and supervision of audio-visual media transmission and content within the country. GCAM reports to the Ministry of Media and is independent in terms of finance and administration. Esra Assery is currently appointed as CEO of the General Commission for Audiovisual Media.

History

The General Commission for Audiovisual Media was founded following decision no. #236 of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

on 21

Rajab Rajab ( ar, رَجَب) is the seventh month of the Islamic calendar. The lexical definition of the classical Arabic verb ''rajaba'' is "to respect" which could also mean "be awe or be in fear", of which Rajab is a derivative. This month is re ...

1433 AH (11 June 2012). In

Shawwal Shawwal ( ar, شَوَّال, ') is the tenth month of the lunar based Islamic calendar. ''Shawwāl'' stems from the verb ''shāla'' () which means to 'lift or carry', generally to take or move things from one place to another, Fasting during S ...

1433 AH (September 2012), the organisation of GCAM was approved, which includes having a board of directors headed by the Minister of Culture and Information (or presently the Minister of Media as of 2018).

Responsibilities

GCAM conducts and regulation and policies audiovisual activities in accordance with Kingdom’s “media policy” as well as provides related services to facilitates the content broadcasting. furthermore, it issues and manages licenses for audiovisual media transmission and content. GCAM is also responsible for technical issues and specifications related to the media such as providing the approval for the frequency spectrum, media transmission devices.

Saudi cinema

In December 2017, The General Commission of Audiovisual Media chaired by Ministry of Culture and Information (currently Ministry of Media) announced the re-opening the cinema in the Kingdom where the commission would be responsible for granting licenses to cinemas.

Saudi Arabian age rating systems

Video games

In August 2016, GCAM introduced Saudi Arabia's official age rating system for video games. This came following two years of research, and working closely with Sony MEA's Saudi office, whom handles the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

brand in the country. The first game title released under GCAM's rating is '' Uncharted 4: A Thief's End''. Any game is effectively banned if GCAM refuses to rate it. The ratings include the following:

Films

Following the December 2017 announcement of film theatres re-opening in Saudi Arabia, in early 2018 ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' reported that the

Center for International Communication The Saudi Center for Government Communication (CGC) is a Saudi Arabian government media organization established in August 2017 by the Ministry of Culture and Information (Saudi Arabia), Minister of Culture and Information (MOCI). The Saudi Gaze ...

(CIC) started developing a new content classification system for films to be exhibited in the country. By April 2018, GCAM has officially approved of a 6-category film content classification system. In June 2022, the system was silently revised with an additional "PG15" category. Any film is refused classification (effectively banned) if said film does not pass GCAM's censorship standards, unless edited by the film's local or global distributor if possible. Theatres are obligated to refuse admittance to any minor under minimal age from viewing films rated R12 or higher. As of June 2022, the ratings include the following:

References

External links

* __FORCETOC__ {{authority control Government agencies established in 2012 2012 establishments in Saudi Arabia Censorship in Saudi Arabia Cinema of Saudi Arabia Entertainment rating organizations Government agencies of Saudi Arabia Motion picture rating systems Video game content ratings systems Video game organizations