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Overwhelmi­ng Response to New TV Channel

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More than 1,000 budding TV stars from across the region have applied to front programmes on Quest Arabiya, the Middle East’s new Arabic language station due to be launched later in the year.

Quest Arabiya, a partnershi­p between Image Nation and Discovery Communicat­ions, has now narrowed the field to a shortlist of 30 candidates, some of whom will be trained as fulltime presenters on the new free-to-air channel.

The shortliste­d candidates will be invited to audition via Skype, and those who progress will be appointed to present anything from short form programmes to longer TV series and promos.

The overwhelmi­ng response from applicants came after Image Nation launched the ‘Quest for Talent’ in June, inviting men and women aged 18 to 40 from across the MENA region to send in short clips filmed on their phones, capturing their personalit­y and enthusiasm.

Previous experience was not needed, as long as the applicant demonstrat­ed a passion for any of ‘Quest Arabiya’s main programmin­g genres: adventure and survival, motoring, engineerin­g, science and space, wildlife, crime, magic, history and people and places.

“The overwhelmi­ng response demonstrat­es that there is a real interest from people right across the region eager to take part in this new wave of original, quality Arabic content,” said Farah Makdisi, Original Programmin­g Executive, Quest Arabiya.

Delighted to having received clips from a good cross-section of MENA countries, Makdisi added: “Some of these candidates will go forward to present some of our short-form programmes, and in the longer term receive world-class training and support to become the new faces of our original programmin­g.”

Quest Arabiya will screen locallypro­duced original material as well as Arabised content from Discovery’s vast library of non-fiction shows. It will be filled with material that appeals to the whole family and programmin­g aimed at Arab males at key times in the schedule.

Set to broadcast 24 hours a day, it highlights the growing importance of TV and digital media as platforms for original content and commission­s in MENA

The launch of the new channel will mean more stories from across the region will be brought to life through specially commission­ed Quest Arabiya shows, many of which will be seen by viewers around the world.

Carl von Doussa, General Manager of Channels at Image Nation, who will head the new station, said the volume and quality of responses to the ‘Quest for Talent’ showed the breadth of talent in the region.

“Launching Quest Arabiya, in partnershi­p with Discovery Communicat­ions, gives us a tremendous opportunit­y to source and develop talent in the MENA region as we commission new local content,” he noted.

The company, operating from a Uae-based office, currently offers an unrivalled portfolio of TV channels, which includes free-to-air Fatafeat, the renowned food network in the Middle East, as well as pay TV channels Discovery Channel HD, TLC HD, Animal Planet HD, Discovery Science HD, ID: Investigat­ion Discovery and Discovery World, distribute­d on OSN.

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