Strategic Partnership Between My-HD and Arabsat Brings Viewers Extensive International High Definition Content Offering

4 June 2013

My-HD and Arabsat celebrated the success of their strategic partnership by announcing the official launch of the full bouquet of 39 channels out of which 31 are High Definition (HD). Cliff Nelson, CEO, My-HD and Khalid Balkheyour, President and CEO, Arabsat hosted the celebration for achieving this milestone on Thursday, 30th May at the Burj Al Arab.

The Ambassador of Philippines, Grace Princesa along with top management from popular channels like MBC, Rotana, GMA, Al Nahar, MTV Lebanon, Fox International and others were present to be part of this official gathering for a successful alliance between My-HD and Arabsat. The event was hosted with grandeur, class, glamour, and began with the spectacular unveiling of the complete set of channels offered by My-HD. While the CEOs and management of all the channels present had an opportunity to interact with one another, they were also spellbound with the brilliant performance by the duo artist choreographers.

Speaking during the occasion, Cliff Nelson, CEO of My-HD said, “My-HD and Arabsat’s partnership is set to shape the future of HDTV in the MENA region. Ever since our tie-up in March 2013 we have been working hard to secure premium HD content for the region”.

He further added, “Since we are aware that the consumers in the Middle East are as enthusiastic as anywhere else about new technology, we are extremely confident that viewers will enjoy the experience of HDTV and have no reason to go back to Standard Definition because we are providing them with the best viewing experience at an unbeatable price. We are also extremely glad that top broadcasters in the region such as MBC Group with eight HD channels, Al Nahar Network with four HD channels and MTV Lebanon have confidently chosen to partner with My-HD”. 

“Furthermore, two channels which are currently free to air (FTA) will now be shutting of their FTA signals and join the My-HD platform. The two channels; Physique TV and Luxe TV will be available in English and Arabic.

Additionally, My-HD will be launching the first English and Arabic Electronic Program Guide (EPG) on Arabsat called as “My EPG” which will be followed by catch up TV services known as “My Catch Up TV” for its customers. This is in partnership with Saudi Media Pioneer Selevision which will further strengthen its value proposition of a luxury that everyone can afford. All this is just the tip of the iceberg for the future landmark announcements that will soon be made”.

My-HD and Arabsat in this brief period of time have brought international brand channels to the consumers to reinforce their value proposition. Their signing of an exclusive distribution agreement with GMA Network, the Philippines’ number 1 Terrestrial TV Network was the first of its kind. This agreement is very crucial in the development of the local economy considering the population of over 2.4 million Filipinos in the Middle East.  My-HD through this agreement with Arabsat had an aim to build a diversified bouquet of family entertainment channels exclusively across the MENA region at one time, in order to contribute to such as one of the largest communities in the region.

Khalid Balkheyour, President and CEO of Arabsat concluded, “As we have gathered here today for the official launch of My-HD platform on Arabsat, we are not merely marking a project launch, rather, we are celebrating a new era in the Pay-TV market in our region. After years of slow progress, HDTV deployment is on the rise. Arabsat was the first in the region to move one step ahead to promote HD, in 2007 we teamed up with Arab State Broadcasting Union (ASBU) on an initiative to promote HDTV in the region; as a result we launched the first native HDTV channel back in 2007.

Balkhyour added, we are confident that our association with My-HD will be long term collaboration and will add significant value to both parties.  The agreement between the two companies has already allowed My-HD to extend its channel reach to over 170 million viewers in more than 80 countries across the Middle East and Africa. Thereby, enabling a number of viewers to thoroughly enjoy the complete bouquet of HD channels carried on the My-HD platform”. This partnership with My-HD is another proof that Arabsat “hotspot” at 26° East is the “HDTV Portal” of the MENA region.