BBC has changed its play for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this year, Effective February 1, 2016 OSN subscribers will get to see a new channel from BBC called ‘BBC First’, as the UK based broadcaster brings down the curtain on BBC Entertainment. The channel is being exclusively launched on OSN in MENA.
The replacement, as per BBC officials, is said to be part of BBC Worldwide’s global strategy.
“The BBC has a strong reputation for its outstanding drama programming. I’m delighted viewers in MENA will soon be able to enjoy the most popular and critically acclaimed dramas coming out of the UK, express from their original transmission,” commented Natasha Hussain, Vice President and General Manager for Middle East and Mediterranean at BBC Worldwide.
Some of the series set to kick off with the launch are ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Luther’ alongside the BBC’s epic new adaptation of ‘War and Peace’. The shows will be launched with Arabic subtitles.
“The addition of BBC First builds on our commitment to bring exclusive content for our subscribers and underlines the exceptional portfolio of programming that we offer to our subscribers in 2016. This is the first of several exciting new premium additions to OSN, which will be announced in the first quarter of this year and reaffirms the fact that we are the number one destination for premium content in the region. We work with the very best channel partners to bring the very best content,” commented Emad Marcos, Senior Vice President – Media partners & Digital, OSN.
