World Screen

LONDON: Discovery Communications has teamed up with Image Nation to create and launch a new Arabic-language, free-to-air channel for the Middle East and North Africa, Quest Arabiya. Set to debut in the fourth quarter of this year, Quest Arabiya will be a male-skewed channel featuring factual and reality programs. It …

LONDON: CNBC and OSN have renewed their channel distribution deal, which now also includes online viewing. The CNBC business news channel will remain on the OSN pay-TV platform in the Middle East and North Africa. The long-term pact also provides OSN viewers with anytime access to CNBC content via the …

BOGOTÁ: The series Fugitives, distributed by Caracol TV Internacional, has premiered in African territories via the Star Novelas channel. The production airs Monday through Friday at 7:30 p.m. It tells the story of a prestigious civil engineer who is imprisoned after being wrongfully accused of a crime. There he meets …

PARIS: Lagardère Entertainment has become a majority shareholder in the TV and film distributor DIFFA (International Distribution of Films and Fiction from Africa). DIFFA, launched three years ago, has a catalogue of 500 hours of programs and a network of 24 producers from a dozen African countries. Lagardère Entertainment, now …

LONDON: The number of pay-TV homes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is forecast to double between 2010 and 2020 to 21.3 million, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. The Digital TV Middle East & North Africa Forecasts report finds that 18 percent of households …

DUBAI: The subscription-based online streaming service ICFLIX has inked a deal with FOX International Channels that covers the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The arrangement sees National Geographic Channel programs available on the service in the MENA region, in English and Arabic, and will be updated monthly, as will …

JOHANNESBURG: The struggling South African pay-TV service TopTV has shuttered two of its channels—Top Movies +24 and Top Junior—as it works to stay afloat. The platform, which competes with DStv, is operated by On Digital Media, which this week unveiled a "business rescue plan" for the company after announcing that it was …

October 31 to November 2 Sandton Convention Center, Johannesburg, South Africa The 2012 edition of DISCOP Africa, which kicks off next week, is shaping up to be the largest yet. More than 1,000 non-exhibiting and exhibiting delegates representing 700-plus companies from 85 countries are expected to attend, marking a record …

SANTA MONICA: MNet is very keen to showcase its African movies, which are available for license all over the globe, at the AFM next week. “MNet’s African films appeal to a far wider audience than just the local demographic, which has been proven by the massive increase in content requests …

JOHANNESBURG: The 2012 edition of DISCOP Africa, which kicks off next week, is shaping up to be the largest yet. More than 1,000 non-exhibiting and exhibiting delegates representing 700-plus companies from 85 countries are expected to attend, marking a record number of delegates. “Over seven editions of DISCOP Africa, our …