OSN launches Arabic movie channel, Home of HBO service and H2

Middle East pay TV operator OSN is launching six new HD channels including a ‘Home of HBO’ service, to highlight the scope of its entertainment offering.

The channels, which will be available form February 1, are OSN Yahala Cinema HD, which OSN says is the first Arabic movie channel in true HD, allowing viewers to watch the latest Arabic films a few weeks after their theatrical release, OSN Movies Family HD, offering a range of family movies, OSN First HD Home of HBO, the result of OSN’s partnership with the US premium drama provider, and H2 HD from A+E Networks.

These channels are in addition to the recently announced BBC First HD, tailored for the MENA region.

H2 HD, which is launching in the region for the first time, will be fully subtitled in Arabic by April. The existing History Channel, already offered by OSN, will also be full subtitled by March.

OSN Yahala HD will offer a range of Arabic movies including Hayati Mebhdela, Shad Ajza’a, Ahwak and Awlad Rezik, while OSN Movies Family HD will offer Hollywood family fare including Finding Dory, The Jungle Book, Kung Fu Panda 3 and Inside Out.

The Home of HBO channel will offer a line up that includes Togetherness, Vinyl, Game of Thrones, Ballers, The Brink, True Detective, Girls, Silicon Valley and Veep. OSN will offer about 1,500 hours of content on OSN, OSN Play and GO online TV. OSN’s on-demand service has also been expanded with over 2,000 hours of exclusive HBO programming including complete box sets of HBO series

“We are continuously pushing our boundaries and reinventing the TV industry landscape of the MENA region through our investment in content that no other network can offer. This is our central strategy for 2016. OSN’s world-class and ‘nowhere else’ television experiences are tailored to suit the entertainment preferences of the entire family, which will continue to drive our growth,” said David Butorac, CEO of OSN.

“The new channels reflect the exclusive global industry partnerships that we have strengthened over the years. We have first access to content of all the new channels for our OTT and On Demand platforms too, thus also enhancing the true ‘anytime, anywhere’ TV experiences for our subscribers.”