Orbit meets global aspirations in landmark deal with Rotana

This is a landmark deal for Orbit with Rotana for distribution through the DIRECTV platform of Arabic TV programmes in the USA. DIRECTV is the leading satellite Pay TV provider in the USA, with other key operations in Central and South America.

"We are delighted to partner with Rotana in providing some of our more popular programmes to our audiences in the USA through DIRECTV. This programming milestone is part of our long-term strategy and commitment to provide quality entertainment to Arab residents and expatriate communities all over the world," said Mr. Ajouz, VP Marketing and Distribution.

Orbit is considered the pre-eminent Pay TV provider across the Arab world for Arabic programming. The Orbit Arabic channels offer quality viewing and entertainment, with a deep respect and regard for the sensibilities of Islam and the Arab culture. The popularity and viewer loyalty of Middle East audiences for Orbit's Arabic channels has prompted Orbit, as the region's leading Pay TV company, to expand worldwide to meet the huge global demand for quality and entertaining Arabic programming among Arabic-speaking communities and households a population that exceeds 3 million Arabic-speaking households in the USA can now subscribe to the ArabicDirect package from DIRECTV, which apart from the Orbit channels, also includes "Rotana Cinema", "Rotana Zaman" and "Rotana Moossika".

Since its inception, Orbit has always maintained its philosophy of providing quality entertainment for the entire family. The channels "Al Yawm" and "Qanat Al Musalsalat" are a clear reflection of Orbit's "Family Viewing" philosophy. These popular Orbit Arabic channels will now be available through DIRECTV, both as DTH, and also in large-scale institutions such as hospitals, universities, hotels and other large scale entities.

The ArabicDirect package on DIRECTV includes:

Orbit - Arabic Series Channel (Qanat Al Musalsalat)
Qanat Al Musalsalat is the first 24-hour Arabic thematic channel of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, featuring the best Arabic TV series from the region. The Series Channel delivers the widest variety of TV productions including drama, comedy, and historical biography portrayed by some of the most famous actors in Arabic cinema.

Orbit - Al-Yawm
Orbit's Al-Yawm channel is a 24 hour contemporary Arabic entertainment and variety channel, which also delivers more than 35 hours of live Orbit productions every week during peak viewing times. Viewers are invited to take a close-up view of all the local events and news in Cairo, Beirut and Riyadh in "Oyoun Beirut", "Al-Qahira Al Yawm" and "Min Al-Riyadh". The Al-Yawm programme line-up also includes advice on the smartest fashion trends, beauty care, the best in cooking and recipes, and also light-hearted comedy shows.