"Who wants to Be A Millionaire?" is the most popular show on Arabic TV with mobile and web game interaction

Dubai, May 9th, 2010: MBC announced today that it has launched the first iPhone game in Arabic for the hugely successful show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" which airs across a wide geographic area including UAE , Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Tunisia and Turkey. The launch is in partnership with 2waytraffic international, the TV formats production and distribution arm of Sony Pictures Television (SPT).

Since its first hit TV screens in 1998 in the UK, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" has aired in more than 100 countries. MBC now provides the opportunity for all Arabic fans of the show to enjoy the fun and excitement on their iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

Featuring over 1,000 questions, the application tests knowledge and speed with all the excitement of the TV game show. Online fans can call on the classic lifelines, ask the audience, use their 50:50, and Phone A Friend to help climb their way up the money tree to the virtual million.

The MBC website has received a great response to date with over 100,000 players every month. Viewers can access the URL website mbc.net/mobc or http://itunes.apple.com/ae/app/id365516742?mt=8  to download the game.

Dr. Ammar, Director of New Media at MBC Group said: " 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' is the most interactive program on Arabic TV with Home Viewer Question (HVQ), web and iphone games. Localization of the hit international game show for Arabic speakers in the Middle East has already proven successful. We are delighted to partner with 2waytraffic and look forward to more joint efforts that continuously offer entertainment and education to our viewers".

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About MBC Group
MBC Group was established in 1991 as the first pan-Arab free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World.  Over the past 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 9 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 hours movie channel with Farsi subtitles)  Al Arabiya (the 24-hour Arabic language news channel) and WANASSAH (24 hours music channel) two radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music), and panorama fm (contemporary Arabic hit music); as well as O3 productions, a specialized documentary production unit, a news gathering agency.   It has also several online platforms: www.mbc.net, www.alarabiya.net, and www.alaswaq.net.

For further information, please contact:
Joyce Baz
MBC PR
Telephone: + 971 4 391 9999 ext: 2790
Email: Joyce.Baz@mbc.net

© Press Release 2010