YahLive to broadcast 7 of MBC's leading channels in HD
Dubai, UAE: 05 December 2011- MBC Group, the largest & first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World, and YahLive, the UAE based satellite operator, announced today during a joint press conference held at MBC Headquarters, a strategic long-term partnership to broadcast seven of MBC's channels in HD through YahLive's satellite service.
The partnership agreement means that viewers of YahLive, which broadcasts at 52.5ºE, across the Middle East, North Africa can now access MBC Group's top rated channels: MBC 1; MBC 2, MBC 4; MBC Action; MBC Drama; MBC MAX; and Al Arabiya News Channel, all in the highest quality HD.
The agreement was signed by MBC Group's CEO, Sam Barnett, and Mohamed Youssif, CEO of YahLive. Commenting on the partnership, Sam Barnett, MBC Group CEO, said: "
We are pleased to announce this partnership with YahLive. YahLive is building a proposition based on High Definition (HD) television and aims to attract audiences from across the region. Our channels are 'required viewing' for many in the Middle East and the ability to watch them in HD is becoming increasingly attractive. This deal should therefore create a strong partnership."
"Our partnership with MBC Group is another key milestone in the evolution of YahLive and is another example of our strategic vision to become the HD Hotspot for the region and beyond," said Mohamed Youssif, CEO of YahLive.
"Ensuring that our customers have access to the number one channels and programmes is of paramount importance to us, and it is clear that MBC's offering is amongst the most popular in the region. We are embarking on an extremely important stage in our development to become the region's satellite broadcaster of choice and are preparing to make more announcements shortly, which will continue to strengthen our customer offering," he concluded.
YahLive has benefited from the shared knowledge and experience of the satellite operator SES, Using SES's extensive knowledge of HD TV, YahLive have developed a high quality, robust and secure HD TV standard for its services in the region. SES operates 49 Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform across the globe, carrying nearly 6,000 TV channels, out of which more than 1000 are HD. .
YahLive is a partnership company with Yahsat, the United Arab Emirates-based satellite communications company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, and the global satellite operator SES.
-Ends-
About MBC Group
MBC Group is the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World which was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002. Over the past 20 years, MBC Group has grown to become a well-established media group that enriches people's lives through information, interaction and entertainment. Based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, MBC Group includes 10 television channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment), MBC2 and MBC MAX (24-hour movies), MBC3 (children's entertainment), MBC4 (entertainment for new Arab women), MBC Action (action series and movies), MBC Persia (24-hour movie channel dubbed in Farsi) , Al Arabiya (the 24-hour Arabic language news channel); Wanasah (24-hour Arabic music channel) and MBC DRAMA coinciding with the Group's 20th anniversary, and offers 24/7 Arabic Drama; the Group also includes two radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music), and Panorama FM (contemporary Arabic hit music); as well as O3 productions, a specialized documentary production unit. It has also several online platforms: www.mbc.net, www.alarabiya.net and www.shahid.net, the first free VOD portal in the Arab world.
About YahLive
YahLive is a partnership between Al Yah Satellite Communications Company, Yahsat, and SES, a global satellite operator.
Launched in 2011, YahLive offers state of the art broadcasting, newsgathering, distribution and contribution feed capacities, bringing about a new era of high-definition (HD) and 3D TV services, from Y1A satellite positioned at 52.5 degrees East, covering the Middle East, Africa and West Asia.
YahLive offers broadcasters access to extensive satellite capacity to enable the latest innovations in the broadcast world, such as HD and interactive TV.
Through YahLive broadcasters can introduce new HD or interactive channels without worrying about capacity constraints, and also extend their audience reach to new regions with YahLive's wide-reaching coverage.
For more information, please contact:
Ruba Al Ayed
PR Manager
MBC Group
Tel: +971 56 6038358
Email: ruba.alayed@mbc.net
Website: www.mbc.net
Asala Faddah
Hill & Knowlton
Mob: +971 56 696 0787
Tel: +971 2 447 2805
E-Mail: asala.faddah@hillandknowlton.com
© Press Release 2011
