Fox rebrands Middle East net, acquires female skewing series

Fox International Channels is rebranding its Middle Eastern network Fox Series as it looks to target more women viewers and has inked a number of new programming deals for series including Glee and MasterChef Australia.

The global channels arm of the News Corp-backed broadcaster is rebranding Fox Series into an Arabic general entertainment network for women called Fox.

The channel, which is part of the company’s joint venture with Middle Eastern broadcasting group Rotana, will be launching a raft of new series in the region for the first time. It has struck a deal with Shine International to acquire the Australian version of cooking format MasterChef Australia and has bought high school musical series Glee and Tim Roth-fronted psychologist drama Lie To Me from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution and Disney Media Distribution’s Desperate Housewives.

The free-to-air channel will also include a number of Hollywood movies, dubbed into Arabic, as well as a locally produced daytime talkshow Jdeed O Mofeed.

“Our research revealed that there is a huge demand for quality entertainment targeting women. Taking a page from these insights and findings, beginning today, the all new Fox channel will now be the one-stop destination; bridging this void,” said Fox International Channels Middle East general manager Rohit D’Silva.