Having defined its credentials as the fastest growing pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2015, OSN is unveiling an unbeatable line-up of six new channels, all in glorious HD, this New Year.
With this, OSN further underlines its industry leadership in offering a nowhere else choice of blockbuster films, award-winning series, general entertainment and Arabic movies. Five new channels will be launched on Feb. 1 with other premium and exclusive channels to be unveiled in March.
The launch of the new channels highlights OSN’s strategy for 2016 to consolidate its market presence by offering subscribers premium content that is available in true HD on OSN in addition to strengthening its digital viewing platforms for ‘anytime, anywhere’ access.
The new channels exclusive for OSN subscribers from Feb. 1 are: OSN Yahala Cinema HD (Channel No: 110), the first Arabic movie channel in true HD, allowing viewers to watch the latest Arabic films just a few weeks after their theatrical release; OSN Movies Family HD (Channel No: 16), the movie destination for the entire family; OSN First HD Home of HBO (Channel No: 202) that brings award-winning and world-class series from the HBO stable at same time as the US; and H2 HD (Channel No: 509), from the History channel portfolio is a new premium factual channel offering never-before-seen documentaries.
These channels are in addition to the recently announced BBC First HD (Channel No: 215), tailored for the MENA region, which will serve as the only place to watch the very best of British premium drama and new entertainment.
Building on its commitment to localization and offering more choice to its Arabic viewers, the brand new H2 HD channel will be fully subtitled by April while the existing History channel will be 100% subtitled in Arabic by March.
David Butorac, Chief Executive Officer of OSN, said: “We are continuously pushing our boundaries and reinventing the TV industry landscape of the MENA region through our investment in content that no other network can offer. This is our central strategy for 2016. OSN’s world-class and ‘nowhere else’ television experiences are tailored to suit the entertainment preferences of the entire family, which will continue to drive our growth.
He added: “The new channels reflect the exclusive global industry partnerships that we have strengthened over the years. We have first access to content of all the new channels for our OTT and On Demand platforms too, thus also enhancing the true ‘anytime, anywhere’ TV experiences for our subscribers.”
Recently, OSN has also signed a 10-year extended partnership with NBCUniversal that will also see E! Channel exclusively available to OSN subscribers. OSN will also bring the popular Syfy channel on board as part of the partnership this year.
The year 2016 will see over 50 new and exclusive shows plus 70 continuing series premiering only on OSN. Over 25 of the biggest and award-winning shows will premiere at the same time as the US so OSN viewers see the most talked about shows first.
“Over the past years, we have expanded our dedicated programming for women and children as well as enhanced our movie, series and sports content. This year, we are going all out to expand our portfolio with exclusive and world-class content for the entire family. Entertainment doesn’t get any better than on OSN this year. It is the only way to watch TV,” concluded Butorac.
With over 150 channels, OSN continues to be the industry leader across the entire breadth of entertainment choices. OSN’s children’s entertainment programming is unbeatable with international content partnerships to deliver positive and value-based programming that is available ‘nowhere else.’ The network will also build on its HD portfolio, set to be reach 64 channels by the first quarter, providing unmatched home entertainment like never before. — SG
