OSN Ya Hala Launches in the UK

Arabic entertainment is now accessible to Arabs abroad with the launch of OSN's Ya Hala in the UK

OSN, the pay-TV network for the Mena region, has launched its first international Arabic channel - OSN Ya Hala-on TalkTalk, a telecom service in the UK. The channel is being streamed through a partnership with THEMA, a company that aggregates foreign TV channels into bouquets created for diaspora communities. This is the first time an Arabic entertainment channel with premium and exclusive TV content will be broadcast to a global audience. “We launched OSN Ya Hala in August 2011, OSN’s first step into original Arabic language content,” says David Butorac, the Chief Executive of the network. “The channel has proven to be hugely successful and is now the second most watched channel on our network.” Butorac says their foray into international markets will fill the gap in Arabic content for millions of Arab viewers living abroad. According to official UK records, there are about 240,000 British Arabs and 110,000 reside in London. The channel will air award-winning content, series, talk shows, general entertainment and lifestyle programmes. Some of the shows slated for the channel include cooking themed drama Alf Akla w Akla and Znood El Sitt Season 2, popular Egyptian comedy starring Ahmed Mekky Al Kabir Season 3, Bassem Youssef’s Amerika Bil Arabi and Egyptian drama series Adam w Jamila.

More information can be found on www.thematv.com