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On Feb. 2, the deputy leader of Bahrain鈥檚 largest opposition bloc, the Shia group Al Wefaq, made his way to the headquarters of Al Arab Television for the network鈥檚 debut on air.

鈥淭he channel approached us [Al Wefaq] to have me on the first broadcast,鈥� says Khalil Marzouq. 鈥淚 accepted and I felt very welcomed鈥� at the studio.

The host of the program wanted to discuss a Jan. 31 by the country鈥檚 Interior Ministry revoking the nationality of 72 Bahrainis, including both opposition Shia activists and Sunni extremists accused of links to the Islamic State militant group. In a roughly three-minute clip, Mr. Marzouq said he objected to the decision on human rights grounds.

Not long thereafter, Al Arab stopped transmission. Bahrain鈥檚 state news agency 鈥渢echnical and administrative reasons.鈥� The station鈥檚 own Twitter feed issued a similar statement. But analysts and reporters watching drew another conclusion: Al Arab had been taken off air for giving Bahrain鈥檚 political opposition a platform.

Whether it was in fact for political or technical reasons, the channel鈥檚 disruption makes Al Arab only the latest Arabic cable news station to fall victim to perceptions of political bias 鈥� the very thing the new channel had promised would differentiate it among skeptical regional viewers.

The two giants in the Arabic news industry, Qatar-owned Al Jazeera and Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, have lost audience since the Arab Spring began in 2011, when both channels appeared to take their home countries鈥� sides. The loss in confidence is evident in the gains of a rival station 鈥� BBC Arabic 鈥� which has seen growth in its audience year over year.

Al Arab is privately owned, and promised the type of professional journalism that could prove true competition to state-backed peers. The channel is part of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal鈥檚 media empire, which includes the Saudi Rotana Group, shares in Twitter and 21st Century Fox, and until last year, nearly 7 percent of NewsCorp. The prince鈥檚 entertainment channels have broken taboos about family, women, and even political conversation; the editors of Al Arab promised the news channel would do even more.

After last week鈥檚 incident, however, viewers are already asking whether Al Arab can really shake up the Arabic news media.

鈥淚t seems to me that it would be an embarrassment for the station to change its editorial line so clearly after this incident,鈥� says one Gulf-based analyst, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the shutdown in Bahrain. He notes that many will be watching if and how their stance could change. 鈥淭heir retreat would be clear to everyone.鈥�

Al Arab鈥檚 opening was supposed to mark Bahrain鈥檚 emergence as a regional media giant. The channel chose Bahrain as its headquarters in December 2011, when many other businesses were pulling out. Tens of thousands of protesters had taken to the streets earlier that year, inspired by the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt to ask for reform. After initially tolerating the unrest, the government then shut the protests down with the help of a regional Gulf Cooperation Council security mission.

At least 35 people died and many more were arrested in the initial crackdown. By December, confidence in Bahrain鈥檚 economy had fallen, with some businesses relocating to places such as Dubai and Riyadh.

At the time, Prince Alwaleed had been considering both Dubai and Bahrain as the headquarters for a new, pan-Arab news channel. Bahrain , and the Prince announced that Rotana鈥檚 senior management would also relocate to Bahrain.

Promise of editorial freedom

鈥淚t is significant that Prince Alwaleed moved Rotana to Bahrain at that critical time,鈥� the Gulf analyst notes. 鈥淚n the least, it was an implicit endorsement of Bahrain鈥檚 government, because otherwise it would be the exactly opposite: pulling money out for commercial and political reasons.鈥�

Yet Alwaleed also promised editorial freedom 鈥� and appeared to secure a commitment from Bahrain, whose state news agency when the deal was signed in 2011 that it showed 鈥渇reedom of expression and opinion which are prevailing in the Kingdom.鈥�

In the years since, Al Arab has worked to set up a newsroom to rival those at Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. The new station hired more than 250 staffers to work under its editor, the well-respected Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A day before the first broadcast, Mr. Khashoggi promised that his channel would be objective and free to report, no matter the subject matter. Speaking in an interview with TV channel Rotana, he to host anyone, regardless their political persuasion 鈥� even 鈥渋f [ISIS leader] al-Baghdadi was ready to appear.鈥�

Bahrain鈥檚 authorities had also promised a successful launch. After touring the facilities, the country鈥檚 Information Minister Isa Abdulrahman al-Hamid said Jan. 28 that Al Arab鈥檚 launch would 鈥渂olster Bahrain's media status, help attract leading international enterprises, woo investments, generate jobs and hone the skills of national media staff,鈥� the state news agency .

A provocative debut

Al Arab鈥檚 first broadcast seemed tailored to prove it was independent, with provocations in both style and substance. While Bahrain鈥檚 Shia-led opposition often speaks in Western and regional media, it is rare for members of Al Wefaq to appear on local television.

The revocation of nationality has also been a particularly controversial topic. Bahrain had previously withdrawn citizenship from 31 prominent Shia opposition figures, but this list of 72 was both larger and broader in scope than any previous decision.

About 50 of the people on the list are Shia opposition figures, activists, and clerics, while the remaining 22 are thought to be Sunnis, including foreign fighters and clerics that have joined ISIS.

The mixing of those two cohorts 鈥� political activists and violent jihadists 鈥� has raised concerns among human rights groups both at home and internationally.

鈥淚t has come to a point where they are using the banner of terrorism to crack down on activists,鈥� says Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, one of those whose nationality was withdrawn. Mr. Alwadaei was a youth activist in the 2011 uprising and was critically injured during the government response to the protests. He has since sought asylum in Britain. 鈥淲hether it is those members who have joined ISIS or members of pro-democracy movement. There is no fine line.鈥�

Yet in addition to Marzouq of Al Wefaq, Al Arab had also invited Information Minister Mr. Al-Hamadi to discuss the decision. The revocation was 鈥渘ot political,鈥� he told the station, explaining that anyone on the list of 72 could appeal the decision.

'Not any businessman'

Despite the controversial first discussion, Al Arab鈥檚 shutdown surprised many in Bahrain, particularly given how symbolic it had been for the channel to set up on the island in the first place.

鈥淧rince Alwaleed is not any businessman that can be shoved about,鈥� says the Gulf analyst. 鈥淗e has a lot of investment in Bahrain.鈥�

Bahrain鈥檚 private Akhbar Al Khaleej newspaper reported that the suspension was because the channel failed to 鈥渁bide by the prevailing norms in the Gulf.鈥�

Khashoggi did not reply to an interview request from the Monitor after the shutdown.

The true test of the station will be in the coming months as it tries to become genuine competition in the Arabic media. Viewers may 鈥� or may not 鈥� be watching.