As a region, it’s important to tell our own stories
Prior to the 1990s, before cable and satellite offerings started to fragment audiences, television was considered “community entertainment” that helped create a sense of identity. But, as audiences became more niche, this shared experience started to dissipate. Certainly, providers were giving viewers content that was considered much more “premium” than before, but oddly enough, something important was lost along the way — perhaps a sense of relatability.
That is why, ever since our first broadcast in 1991, MBC has always kept in mind our responsibility to serve the greater Middle East and North Africa (MENA), region while, at the same time, remaining proudly Saudi — thus catering to all diverse tastes and interests. It is also why, alongside our premium content, we still offer a major proportion of our content for free. Fast forward to today, and in 2020, MBC is now a global player in the entertainment sector, with the ability to serve multiple audiences. Looking back, we have come a long way because technology and content back in 1991 were a very different story. Satellite television was still in its infancy, for starters. The world’s first satellite service premiered in 1948 in a few US states. By the 1980s, the number of satellite channel subscribers was growing steadily, but slowed by the high cost of satellite dishes. As economies of scale made dishes more affordable and satellite technology improved, audiences grew. implemented time and time again — using our local knowledge to create premium content tailored to our very own diverse yet specific audience. In the case of MBC FM, it was the combination of Khaliji music, side by side with entertainment and poetry, that helped the station become the top tuned-into station in the Kingdom.
By 2002, it became clear that if we were to continue our expansion and implement our plans to become a major content producer, we needed to be in the middle of our community. With this in mind, MBC relocated from London to Dubai. We had come home, and this greater proximity to our markets and consumers spurred us on to roll out more and more channels. Our move to Dubai Media
City coincided with the launch of O3 Production, a company specializing in the production and acquisition of programs, now under MBC Studios.
The year 2003 saw a major increase in new channels, with MBC2 arriving to offer some of the most successful movies from most, if not all, major studios in Hollywood. Launching two months after was Al Arabiya, which quickly established itself as an accurate, trustworthy and credible source of news.
The next decade was equally exciting with the launch of genrerelated channels: Kids’ favourite MBC3 (2004), the male-targeted MBC Action (2007), youth music