OSN to launch ‘first bespoke Arab ents net’ in UK

Middle East pay TV provider OSN has debuted its first international channel venture with the launch of general entertainment service OSN Ya Hala on the TalkTalk YouView platform in the UK.

OSN Ya Hala is distributed by France-based Thema. According to OSN, the move marks the first time that a bespoke Arabic entertainment channel has been broadcast to an international audience.

The UK launch is aimed at the approximately 240,000 British Arabs, including 110,000 who live in London. Content on OSN Ya Hala, OSN’s flagship channel, includes cooking themed drama Alf Akla w Akla and Znood El Sitt (season two), popular Egyptian comedy Al Kabir (season three), Bassem Youssef’s Amerika Bil Arabi and epic Egyptian drama series Adam w Jamila.

“We are excited about OSN Ya Hala going international and joining TalkTalk, one of the premier networks in Europe,” said OSN CEO David Butorac.

“We launched OSN Ya Hala in August 2011, OSN’s first step into original Arabic language content. The channel has proven to be hugely successful and is now the second most watched channel on our network. The launch of OSN Ya Hala internationally underlines our commitment to fulfill the entertainment needs of Arabs living abroad making world class Arabic television content accessible to millions.”