New DTH platform for migrant groups in Middle East

The signing ceremony between Yahlive and EARTH at CABSAT 2017

Pakistan-based outfit Entertainment Reality TV Hub (EARTH) has teamed up with satellite platform Yahlive to launch a new DTH satellite service to serve five migrant groups in the Middle East.

The new platform will deliver content for Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and Filipino people in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The service will roll out in August, giving viewers access to content in seven languages: Urdu, Hindi, Tamil, Sinhali, Bengali, Tagalog and Malayalam. No details have been made available about the service’s planned line-up of channels.

Customers who sign up early will be eligible for a few months of free subscription including a free set-top box, according to the pair. According to Sami Boustany, Yahlive’s CEO, the service will also be rolled out in other Gulf Cooperation Council markets in the future.

Boustany said: “After serving Farsi, Afghan, Kurdish, Arabian Maghreb and Balkan communities for many years, we’re honoured to expand our reach to five more communities. The programming available with the set-top box is filled with exciting content that will take our viewers back in time, watching their local favourite TV shows. In partnership with EARTH we will soon be launching this new service across other GCC countries.”

Karachi-based EARTH is principally known as a supplier and reseller of production equipment and software as well as Earth stations and cable and satellite headend equipment.

Mohammad Ahsan, CEO of EARTH said: “We feel that in Yahlive we have found an ideal partner with whom we can put our varied experience to the best use. We are excited to launch this new service on their East beam covering South West Asia and the GCC, and look forward to providing our viewers with unlimited hours of premium content.”