London − Discovery Communications announced it has partnered with Image Nation to increase its presence in the growing MENA TV market by creating and launching a new Arabic language, free-to-air TV channel for the region. Quest Arabiya will launch in the final quarter of 2015.
“Quest Arabiya will be a leading destination for men’s lifestyle entertainment in the Middle East and North Africa”, said James Gibbons, EVP for Discovery’s Emerging Business. “Discovery’s global success is based on building strong local teams and looking for new opportunities in key markets. We have a dedicated team based in the UAE and a track record of providing high quality brands and programmes that nourish viewers in the region for more than 16 years. Our partnership with Image Nation will help take our business to the next level, broaden the popularity of factual entertainment and raise awareness of our seven channel brands in the region.”
“In partnering with Discovery to launch a new TV channel in the Middle East, we are doing what Abu Dhabi does best – marrying world-class expertise with regional knowledge,” said Mohammed Al Mubarak, Chairman of Image Nation Abu Dhabi. “Quest Arabiya will provide a needed boost to the private media sector in the UAE as we will be commissioning more content than ever before and producing at the highest international standards.”
Quest Arabiya will be free-to-air and feature male-oriented factual and reality programmes with a combination of locally-produced original material and localised content from Discovery’s vast pipeline of non-fiction shows. Aimed primarily at Arab men aged 16-44, but with material that will appeal to the entire family, key programming genres will include adventure and survival, motoring, engineering, wildlife, history and people and places. Carl von Doussa, General Manager of Channels at Image Nation Abu Dhabi, will lead the new channel, bringing over 19 years of experience in television and digital markets in Europe and the Middle East to the new role.
The launch of Quest Arabiya will see Discovery grow and further localise its presence in the MENA TV market through its partnership with Image Nation, headquartered in Abu Dhabi. Operating from a dedicated office the UAE, Discovery currently offers an unrivalled portfolio of TV channels, which includes free-to-air network Fatafeat, as well as pay TV networks Discovery Channel HD, TLC HD, Animal Planet HD, Discovery Science HD, ID: Investigation Discovery and Discovery World, distributed on OSN.
Fatafeat is present in 55 million TV households in the region and in Saudi Arabia it is the 4th most watched channel among women 20-44 and 3rd among all women between 12pm-6pm. Discovery Channel is one of the most successful international TV channels in Middle East amongst affluent adults and ranks as the #1 factual channel based on weekly reach, outperforming key competitors.
The partnership between Discovery and Image Nation highlights the growing importance of TV and digital media as platforms for original content and commissions in the Middle East, providing new opportunities for local talent and production companies to increase their output, while providing a host of new training and development opportunities in the media industry in the region.
The move means more stories from across the region will be brought to life through specially commissioned Quest Arabiya shows. Under the terms of the cooperation, Discovery Communications has the option to acquire Image Nation’s content for broadcast on its international channels around the world.
