MUMBAI: NDTV has launched NDTV Arabia, a 24-hour news and infotainment channel that will mark its entry into the Middle East and North Africa region. This is a soft launch of the channel; an official launch will be around the end of October, post Ramadan.

NDTV Arabia will be predominantly an English channel and content will be infotainment-based, with business, news and lifestyle showcased on a single platform for audiences in the region. The channel will be free-to-air, available on Nile Sat which is broadcasted to 100 million homes in the region.

Set to broadcast a mix of hourly news and business bulletins and longer reports, each bulletin will fit the appropriate Middle East time zone with an estimated 65% of its coverage to be live news. The channel will also bring to the viewers some trend setting and award winning programmes from the NDTV bouquet like ‘Big Fight’ and ‘We the People’.

NDTV Ltd chairman Prannoy Roy said, “We are proud to announce the launch of NDTV Arabia, the first wholly owned region specific channel from the bouquet of NDTV. This launch is in line with our plans to initiate international expansion beyond our current core market and reach new target audiences. The aim is to give more and more people access to credible quality news and information from India and South Asia. Our next step for the region will be to launch further channels targeting the local Diaspora. NDTV Arabia is just the beginning.”

NDTV Group CEO KVL Narayan Rao added, “NDTV Arabia is NDTV’s first venture into the Middle East and Africa as a customized channel. The channel aims to cater to growing interest in Indian current affairs and economy among a large population of Indian and South Asian origin in the Middle East and Africa.”

To start with the channel will broadcast news, business news and current affairs programming from India and follow it with adding local news content produced from its bureau in Dubai.