The largest publishing company in the Middle East and Warner Bros Discovery have announced the launch of a new Arabic-language media channel set to arrive in the Middle East and northern Africa next year.
SRMG said the free-to-air channel, Asharq Discovery, is expected to be available via broadcast, streaming and local third-party apps, and will also feature a catch-up service.
The channel will host original content across a range of genres including pop science and engineering, wildlife, motoring, travel, reality and crime documentaries.
The media corporations are also planning to co-produce local programming, which will be distributed globally through the Discovery Global network.
Warner Bros Discovery is home to brands including CNN, HBO, the Food Network and New Line Cinema, and is available in more than 220 countries and territories.
SMRG, the Saudi Research and Media Group, has a portfolio of more than 30 outlets.
It has previously joined forces with Bloomberg and also partners with The Independent for its editions in Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Urdu.
Describing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as “undergoing an incredible transformation and exponential growth”, Jamie Cooke of Warner Bros Discovery said the firm believed that the new channel with “homegrown powerhouse” SRMG was “a solid step for us to build a 360 ecosystem of entertainment”.
SMRG chief executive Jomana Al Rashid said: “This partnership is a further demonstration of SRMG’s unrelenting focus and commitment to its consumer-centric approach; bringing our audiences engaging and premium content – when, where and how they want it.
“Discovery has an unrivaled legacy of producing cutting-edge, high-quality documentaries. We look forward to working together to deliver co- commissioned quality content, provide new job opportunities and best-in-class training, as well as tap into a new global network for our growing audiences.”
