OSN Adds Comedy Central to Channel Offering

MILAN/DUBAI: OSN has tied up with Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) to launch Comedy Central HD in the Middle East and North Africa.

Starting May 7, Comedy Central HD will become available exclusively on OSN in MENA, with 100 percent of the programming subtitled in Arabic. Titles will include The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Comedy Central Presents…, Inside Amy Shumer and South Park, among others. The new channel will also feature a dedicated block of Spike content, including Lip Sync Battle. All of the series debuting on Comedy Central HD will launch on OSN’s catch-up service, OSN Play and through OSN On Demand.

Emad Morcos, the senior VP of media partners and digital at OSN, stated: “Everybody loves a good laugh and OSN is offering great value with the addition of Comedy Central HD, a perfect fit to the entertainment preferences of people in the region. We are confident that the wide range of comic series, sitcoms and reality-competitions will appeal to all. Comedy Central contributes to the diversity of exclusive entertainment choices we have added to OSN this year. Complemented with a host of edgy programs from Spike, Comedy Central is also creating the opportunity for local talent to showcase their skills through our planned local programming.”

Raffaele Annecchino, the executive VP and managing director of VIMN South Europe, Middle East and Africa, added: “We are thrilled to work with OSN to further expand our distribution footprint in MENA and bring Comedy Central and Spike to the region. At Viacom, we are committed to creating content that resonates locally and internationally, and we are certain that viewers will love the unique editorial mix on OSN. Delivering this balance of premium international and local comedy content is our expertise and we look forward to working with OSN to bring laughter and satisfaction to MENA audiences, who we know are passionate about comedy. Furthermore, we are committed, as in all of our regions, to growing the local comedy scene and investing in local productions and we will be focusing our energies on this from the first year.”