MBC Group

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Middle East Broadcasting Center
مركز تلفزيون الشرق الأوسط
TypePrivate
Country
Middle East
North Africa
Founded18 September 1991; 29 years ago (1991-09-18)
SloganWe See Hope Everywhere. Arabic (نرى الأمل في كل مكان)
HeadquartersDubai, United Arab Emirates
OwnerWaleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim
Key people
Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Chairman
Sam Barnett (CEO)[1]
Abdul Aziz bin Fahd (major shareholder)
Official website
MBC.net

MBC Group (Arabic: مجموعة MBC‎) is a Saudi-owned[2] media conglomerate based on the Middle East and North Africa region that operates in various locations around the world. It was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters to Dubai in 2002.

MBC Group currently operates over 17 free-to-air satellite TV channels, which include: MBC1, MBC2, MBC3, MBC4, MBC5, MBC Action, MBC Max, MBC Variety, MBC Drama, MBC Persia, Wanasah, MBC Masr, MBC Masr 2, MBC Bollywood, and MBC Iraq. The Group also runs two radio stations: MBC FM and Panorama FM.[3]

Also part of MBC Group is the video on demand service, Shahid, and its premium subscription-based (subscription on demand) service, Shahid VIP, the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform, home to highly rated original productions from the Arab world, a wide range of exclusive movies and premieres, as well as the top watched live Arab TV channels. Due to the number of Arabic-language titles on the platform, Shahid is known as "the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform[4]".

The Group's current chairman is Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim.[5] Sam Barnett returned as MBC Group CEO in December 2020.[6]

MBC was founded in 1991 and initially headquartered in London. London was chosen so as to be seen as detached from Arab governments, however its headquarters was later moved to Dubai. The aim of MBC was to provide a view of the world "through Arabian eyes". MBC's funding is largely through commercial sources, which provides a foothold for multinational corporations in the Arab market.[7] MBC has also provided some support to social causes, including telethons in the 1990s for the people of Bosnia and Palestine.[8]

MBC was the first broadcaster to provide a satellite-based free-to-air 24-hour television network across the Arab world. It has remained privately owned, managed by a group of businessmen and shareholders, including chairman and CEO Sheikh Waleed Al Ibrahim.

MBC's television arm, MBC TV, broadcasts via Arabsat and Nilesat satellites. MBC Headquarters is located in Dubai Media City. The company has more than 1,800 staff members worldwide. The first station in the group, MBC1, offers both entertainment and news content.

In recent years MBC has been hit with major rounds of financial cuts, leading to 150 layoffs and major production cuts. These cuts were driven in part due to advertising not covering production costs and the failure to acquire exclusive rights to the Saudi league.[9] As of 2011 MBC reported 165 million viewers.[10]

TV channels and services[]

All MBC channels are free-to-air except for the HD channels and MBC Plus Variety. They are available on OSN, STC's Invision IPTV and my-HD satellite service. They are all Pay-TV service providers in the Middle East.

MBC 1[]

Main article: MBC 1 (Middle East)

Launched in 1991 as the first independent Pan-Arab channel, MBC 1 is the first free-to-air private satellite channel.

MBC 2[]

Main article: MBC 2 (Middle East)

The first free-to-air movie channel in the Arab world, MBC 2 offers a 24-hour non-stop stream of Hollywood movies, from blockbusters to classics and international films. This channel is censored to not show violence and sexually explicit contents, including deep kiss, fetishism, eroticas, and nudity—all forms have been cut.

MBC 3[]

Main article: MBC 3

MBC 3 is a children's entertainment channel which delivers a programming mix of children's education and entertainment for Arab kids aged between three and thirteen. MBC3 also airs a locally produced reality show for kids, Eish Safari, which recruits young Arab kids and sets them on a month-long trip of mental and physical challenges. Recently, the channel produced a new game show called "Graduate in a Day", similar in concept to "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" for children and their parents.

MBC 4[]

Main article: MBC 4 (Middle East)

The Arab world's first exclusive tailored channel for women, MBC 4 broadcasts Western entertainment, airs prime time shows such as Oprah, Dr. Oz, The Doctors Show, House, The Office, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, So You Think You Can Dance. Today, the channel is geared towards through acquisitions. Airs shows for kids such as Even Stevens and Full House Offers a broad mixture of shows such as Super Nanny, Rachael Ray (TV series), US & UK comedy and drama series, news and current affairs programming from the US networks ABC & CBS plus gameshows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and magazines like The Insider & Inside Edition. One of the channel's most popular programmes is the talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show and soap operas such as Days of Our Lives as well as a film for each weekend. Some cartoons are shown with Arabic subtitles while others All live action shows are subtitled. [11] Shahid is the largest premium VOD service in the world outside of China, the US, and India.[12] Shahid offers a catalogue of MBC's own shows, as well as subtitled foreign content. In January 2020, it was announced Shahid partnered with Disney and Fox to bring more than 3,000 hours of content, including Star Wars, Marvel, and such Disney classics as Frozen. The Service also announced 9 Arabic originals.

MBC 5[a][]

A channel dedicated to family entertainment was launched on 21 September 2019. Targeting Maghrébines countries generally, and Moroccan viewers specifically.[13]

MBC Action[]

Main article: MBC Action

A channel that targets young Arab males. It delivers Western series, movies and action reality shows. Some of its prime time shows include The Mentalist (exclusive on MBC Action), The Vampire Diaries (exclusive on MBC Action), Fringe (Exclusive on MBC Action), Supernatural, V (exclusive on MBC Action), WWE (exclusive on MBC Action) and True Blood. The channel recently which is a weekly "magazine" format show about cars, similar to Top Gear, which they also broadcast the British and American versions of the BBC's Top Gear.

MBC Drama[]

Main article: MBC Drama (Middle East)

One of the latest additions to the Group, which was officially launched on 27 November 2010. It is a family channel, with 24/7 Arabic drama series. The launch coincides with the Group's 20th anniversary, and marks our 10th channel launch. The channel runs a variety of different dramas: Egyptian, Syrian, Bedouin, Gulf And Kuwaiti dramas that are 1st runs and exclusive runs, in addition to Turkish, Pakistani, Mexican and Indian dramas dubbed into Arabic. MBC Drama is distinguished by the two additional repeats throughout the day, offering its viewers the choice of time, based on their various lifestyles and viewership trends. Do not confuse this channel with MBC's subscription-based channel MBC+ Drama.

MBC Max[]

Main article: MBC Max

The MBC Group's second 24-hour movie channel which caters to a younger audience. The channel airs Western, comedy, action, romance and drama movies as well as classic.

MBC Bollywood[]

Main article: MBC Bollywood

MBC launched MBC Bollywood on 26 October 2013.[14] MBC Bollywood is MBC Group's 14th channel,[15] and it is aimed to air 24 hours of Hindi films, either subtitled in Arabic, targeting South Asian audiences, and Arab Bollywood enthusiasts.

MBC Persia[]

Main article: MBC Persia

This channel was launched on 9 July 2008 and provides Persian language contents.The channel is dedicated to Iranian viewers and screens films and programs around the world.

MBC MASR[]

Main article: MBC MASR

MBC launched MBC Masr on 9 November 2012, and it is a division of MBC studios situated in Egypt and targeting Egyptian viewers.

MBC Masr 2[]

This channel was the two hours time-shifted service, but now it's a second channel for Egypt and has a different content.

MBC FM and Panorama FM[]

These radio stations are the MBC Group's Arabic radio stations in Saudi that broadcast music, talk shows, competitions and local coverage of events and news. MBC FM plays local and Gulf music while Panorama FM delivers contemporary Arabic and Western tunes.

Wanasah[]

Main article: Wanasah

A 24-hour music channel that targets the Arab youth, mainly in Eastern Arabia. The channel offers music videos, concerts, music & lifestyle programs as well as series.

MBC.net[]

One of the Arabic entertainment web portals in the region with a mix of sports, entertainment, movies and music content, along with its user interactivity and social networking features.

Shahid[]

Main article: Shahid (streaming platform)

The first free "video on demand" service in the Arab region, with the biggest streaming library of Arabic content.[11] Shahid is the largest premium VOD service in the world outside of China, the US, and India.[12] Shahid offers a catalogue of MBC's own shows, as well as dubbed or subtitled foreign content. In January 2020, it was announced Shahid partnered with Disney and Fox to bring more than 3,000 hours of content, including Star Wars, Marvel, and such Disney classics as Frozen. The Service also announced 9 Arabic originals.

MBC Hope[]

MBC Hope was launched in June 2013 to handle the consumer social relationship elements of MBC. This initiative launched campaigns such as "Syrians without an address" and "Stars on board". In 2017 MBC Hope was expanded to Egypt, with a goal to support female entrepreneurs.[9]

MBC+ Variety[]

It is a 24-hour entertainment channel that airs Western variety content. The channel is now exclusively on arabsat, my-hd platform.

Controversy[]

In 2017 a number of owners and board members of MBC were summoned to Riyadh where they were arrested, accused of corruption, and locked in the Ritz-Carlton. These moves came following years of the Saudi Crown Prince attempting to purchase the media company. After 83 days the company's chief owner Waleed al-Ibrahim was released.[16]

In 2007 MBC began airing its first Turkish soap opera dubbed into another language. Over the next few years these programs became a major success for MBC, with over 85 million viewing the finale of Gümüş.[17] In 2018, MBC moved to remove all Turkish programming from their channels, no official reason were given.

MBC has come under global scrutiny for its use of blackface in popular programming. Popular Egyptian comedian Shaimaa Seif has done a number of programs on MBC using blackface and stereotypes for humor. While some social media backlash has occurred, Seif and MBC have not changed in regards to their content.[18]

Some have raised concern of the amount of American advertisements on MBC channels, with some studies suggesting over 50% of advertising time is devoted towards American products such as those from Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg's, and PepsiCo. These critics state that this leads to cultural imperialism and erodes at the native cultures of areas in the Middle East and North Africa. In a study focused on Algerian consumer preferences, it was found that these consumers were drawn to American advertisements and products advertised on MBC. This in turn led Algerian companies to mimic the advertising style and aesthetic of American companies.[19]

Use of technology[]

In 2010, MBC Max provided the ability to watch English movies with Arabic voices, along with watching English movies (English voices) with or without Arabic subtitles.

In July 2011, MBC launched 10 of its channels in HD which includes MBC 1, MBC 2, MBC 3, MBC 4, MBC Action, MBC Max, MBC Bollywood, MBC Iraq, and MBC Drama. These HD versions of these channels are encrypted using Conax while SD are FTA.

In 2017 Snapchat expanded its "Discover" feature to provide content from regional providers including MBC.[20]

Criticism[]

On 17 September 2013, the Anti-Defamation League criticized the network for using a clip of the 2009 film Inglourious Basterds in which the Adolf Hitler character was speaking to other Nazis, with the subtitles replaced with advertisements for the network. The League said "The use of such imagery contributes to the trivialization of and desensitization to the unparalleled horrors of the Holocaust."[21]

References[]

  1. ^ "Sam Barnett becomes MBC CEO". Dubai News. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "MBC media group moves to Riyadh as Saudi Arabia seeks to 'reinvent' itself | Mohammed Alkhereiji". AW. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  3. ^ "channels - mbc.net - English". www.mbc.net. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Shahid VIP partners with Asharq News". Campaign Middle East. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Chairman message - mbc.net - English". www.mbc.net. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Sam Barnett returns to MBC as group CEO".
  7. ^ Ayish, Muhammad I. (December 1997). "Arab Television Goes Commercial". Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands). 59 (6): 473–494. doi:10.1177/0016549297059006004. ISSN 0016-5492.
  8. ^ Ayish, Muhammad I.; Qassim, Ali (August 1996). "Direct satellite broadcasting in the Arab Gulf region: Trends and policies". Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands). 56 (1): 19–36. doi:10.1177/001654929605600102. ISSN 0016-5492.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b "MBC Group (Middle East Broadcasting Center)". egypt.mom-rsf.org. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC): A Case of the Content Management Blues". EContent Magazine. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "All-new Shahid: MBC partners with Disney and Fox for fresh version of streaming platform".
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Shahid reports 23% surge in viewer numbers year on year".
  13. ^ "الرئيسية".
  14. ^ "MBC launches Bollywood channel". Arab News. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  15. ^ "MBC promises 'fresh approach' to Bollywood with new channel". Al Arabiya. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
  16. ^ Hubbard, Ben (26 January 2018). "Saudi Arabia Frees Media Mogul, but His Company's Fate Remains a Mystery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  17. ^ Buccianti, Alexandra. "Dubbed Turkish soap operas conquering the Arab world: social liberation or cultural alienation?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2020.
  18. ^ Walsh, Declan (18 August 2019). "Blackface, Staple of Arab Comedy, Faces Surge of Criticism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  19. ^ Sarra, Merzougui. "The Impact of the American Cultural Imperialism on the Algerian Society:A Study of American Advertisements on the MBC Channels" (PDF).
  20. ^ Radcliffe, Damian; Lam, Amanda (February 2018). "Social Media in the Middle East: The Story of 2017; Key developments, stories and research findings". doi:10.7264/N31J9849. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. ^ ADL Official blog

Notes[]

  1. ^ 5 is pronounced "cinq" in French.

External links[]

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