Fox International Channels, a division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp empire, has signed a deal with its sister company, Twentieth Century Fox, for exclusive rights to air top-quality, first-run films on the region's six-month-old Fox Movies station.
These rights are currently held by MBC, the Saudi-based satellite broadcaster that dominates the Middle East's free-to-air film channel market, but they would switch over to Fox in the early part of next year.
"Twentieth Century Fox, prior to our arrival, had a deal with MBC, and now we have a deal with Twentieth Century Fox," said Rohit D'Silva, the general manager of Fox International Channel Middle East.
"This is something that takes away from the overall content which MBC had earlier." Mazen Hayek, the group director of marketing at MBC, declined to comment on how the deal would affect the station, but said the real judges were the advertisers. "They are the ones who have the final say at the end of the day."
The deal represents another chapter in the long-running rivalry between the two titans of Saudi media: Sheikh Waleed Al Ibrahim, who owns MBC, and Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns Rotana. Fox Movies was brought to the region through a partnership between Rotana Media Services and Fox International Channels.
The channel launched in the Middle East in May with the airing of Blade Runner - The Final Cut, starring Harrison Ford, the first time the film was aired in the region.
It was designed to be the first of two English-language, free-to-air satellite channels to be introduced this year. The other station, which will feature American television programmes, is scheduled to launch before the end of the year, Mr D'Silva said.
The channels have offices in Dubai Media City. Fox provides the majority of the content while Rotana is responsible for regional sales. The companies share advertising revenue. The programmes are broadcast from an uplink in Cairo.
"To date, as a result of our partnership with Fox International Channels in launching Fox Movies, we have been instrumental in delivering viewers in the region and an inimitable movie watching experience," said Nezar Nagro, the president of Rotana Media Services. "At RMS we have always remained committed to bringing a greater breadth and depth of diversity and innovation to the Middle East in terms of media content, and so we welcome this deal as yet another measure that demonstrates this commitment to our viewers."
Fox Movies airs feature films from every major Hollywood studio, but Mr D'Silva said the rights to first-run film content from Twentieth Century Fox were not a given, just because the company is owned by Mr Murdoch.
"It's a competitive environment internally," he said. "Our deals are based on the specifics of the individual marketplace."
khagey@thenational.ae
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
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Jawan
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Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Results:
Men's 100m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 15 sec; 2. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 15.40; 3. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 15.75. Men's 400m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 50.56; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 50.94; 3. Henry Manni (FIN) 52.24.
Race card for Super Saturday
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$250,000 (Dh918,125) (Dirt) 1,900m.
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,200m.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Conditions $200,000 (Turf) 1,200m.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $200,000 (D) 1,600m.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $300,000 (T) 1,800m.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 $400,000 (D) 2,000m.
7.30pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 $250,000 (T) 2,410m.
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Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6 – Final
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The five pillars of Islam
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions