Convergence in the Lebanese media system? The Lebanese media landscape can be characterized as an externally pluralistic system where the political and confessional diversity in the country is reflected on the level of the media system. Indeed the broadcasting licenses were distributed after the end of the civil war cautiously along political and sectarian lines and has led to a hypothetical partisanship of audiences particularly with regards to political communication. Some media outlets however have resorted to a mixed strategy including internal pluralism in order to appeal to a larger audience in what already is a small national media market. This 'convergence' can be traced in the case of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) which has transformed from a corporation initially founded as the organ of the right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces militia during the civil war, to a successful commercial liberal satellite station with links to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Saudi prince Walid Bin Talal. The station however is facing a legal battle over ownership and it remains to be seen if the Lebanese Forces will regain ownership. Yet irrespective of the outcome of that legal battle, it is questionable if other media organizations in Lebanon will converge toward a catch-all, mainstream and commercial liberal media due to several factors including the Lebanese state’s weakness in implementing media laws and policies limiting “political money” from flowing into media corporations, which otherwise would not survive due to the limited media market, as well as the deep political divisions and the highly politicized audience. Against this background, the paper aims to explore the likelihood of convergence in the Lebanese media system despite local political and financial realities. The paper also addresses the external vs. internal pluralism debate drawing on Habermas as well as Mouffe’s views of the public sphere and agnostic public sphere of contestation respectively. The paper draws on primary and secondary research including content analysis, legal and media policy analysis, and a series of semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in Lebanon conducted in October 2010 and January 2011 as part of a DAAD-funded doctoral research on the Lebanese media system from a comparative perspective.