The rapidly growing satellite Pay-TV platform in the MENA to launch
over 35 HD channels by October 2013 on Arabsat
The successful alliance between My-HD, one of the rapidly growing
satellite Pay-TV platform in the MENA region, and Arabsat, one of the
world’s leading satellite operators and service providers in the Arab
World, has been reaching scaling heights since inception. This
partnership has taken another step forward with the announcement of the
availability of all current 8 MBC channels in High Definition (HD) on
Arabsat, giving My-HD a total of 30 premium HD channels in its bouquet
out of which 20 are exclusive to My-HD such as the MBC 3HD channel which
is available with English and Arabic audio.
Commenting on this announcement, Khalid Balkheyour, President and CEO of
Arabsat, said, “Our inclusion of MBC's premium channels in HD on the
My-HD package is just the beginning, as we continue to work on
positioning Arabsat as the leading HD hotspot in MENA. In a short span
of time since we announced our strategic partnership with My-HD, the
launch of MBC channels in HD has now made us the only satellite operator
to carry both leading MENA networks - MBC and Rotana - in HD, and 30 HD
channels in total so far which brings the number of HD channels on
Arabsat to a total of 65 with the Saudi football League being completely
exclusive on our satellite.
The eight MBC HD channels are currently available to subscribers on
Arabsat via the My-HD platform, which has the exclusivity of receiving
premium HD channels such as MBC HD, Rotana HD, Al Nahar HD, Fox HD among
many others with only on one satellite dish.
Cliff Nelson, CEO My-HD said, “Our strategic alliance with Arabsat has
by far proven to be one of the most successful partnerships since we
entered this industry. Today, we have the region’s two largest networks
- MBC and Rotana Group - available in HD for the first time only on
My-HD and Arabsat, giving our customers across the MENA region
unbeatable value”
My-HD is rapidly positioning itself as the region’s leading Pay-TV
platform and through its strong partnership with Arabsat and Content
Providers like MBC its plan to offer the most and best HD channels to
MENA satellite TV Households at ultra-low prices is on track.
The 30 HD channels are expected to grow significantly before the end of
2013, as My-HD gears up to announce soon the exclusive inclusion of a a
newly launching 9th channel that belongs to the MBC Group.
From his end, Sam Barnett, MBC Group CEO, said: "We are pleased to see
our HD channels join My-HD on Arabsat, which has a clear vision to
become the number one HD Hotspot in the MENA region. We also laud
Arabsat's principles and policies which prevent pirate TV channels from
operating on its satellite. We look forward to our shared growth, as we
launch further HD channels as part of our migration strategy from
Standard Definition.”
According to Nelson, My-HD has major plans lined up to reach the goal of
being the first and foremost Ultra Low Pay-TV platform in the region.
“We have great ambitions that we are on track to realizing, through the
genuine support of our partners and our rapidly growing customer base,”
emphasized Nelson. “By next October, we forecast the launch of over 35
HD Channels on Arabsat, and to ensure reach to a wider audience, we have
also further extended our geographic coverage to Iraq and Morocco, thus
allowing our audience in those markets to enjoy our full bouquet of
family entertainment channels.”