OSN to Launch Republic TV in the Middle East & North Africa

Republic TV, India’s leading English-language news channel has announced its first international partnership with OSN, the region’s leading entertainment network, just six months after its launch in India.

Founded by stalwart journalist Arnab Goswami, Republic TV is the newest entrant to the English news space in India. Breaking records with 52 per cent market share in its first week of broadcast it is now the de-facto leader in the genre with market shares upwards of 40 per cent.

Republic TV has a diverse schedule of shows including The Debate which airs every day except Saturday, from 9-11pm, and a weekly interview show, Nation Wants to Know – both hosted by Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. Additional shows include Patriot, with Major Gaurav Arya, where viewers are taken into the barracks of the armed forces and R. Glitz, which showcases the latest news from Bollywood, among others.

OSN boasts a diverse suite of content with a South Asian flavour and Pehla Variety and Pehla Prime packs will offer topical and relevant programming such as Republic TV. Subscribers can also view the best in regional movies, as well as the latest and greatest Hindi movies and TV shows. Other benefits of the package include Bollywood hits, popular Indian series and great cricket action. 

Republic TV, President of Distribution & International Revenues, Priya Mukherjee said: “Since our inception earlier this year, Republic TV has strived towards widening the reach of our cutting-edge content. While we successfully executed the reach of Republic TV across all households in the fragmented Indian cable distribution ecosystem during the first six months of the channel, our next target is to reach audiences across the world. Our launch in the Middle East and North Africa region is our first foray into international distribution and we hope to soon expand our reach to a wider audience around the world.”

Commenting on the launch, Emad Morcos, Chief Content Officer, OSN said: “We are excited to have Republic TV available on OSN. Since the channel’s launch earlier this year it has generated a buzz in the Indian media for its unique and popular content. With Republic TV, we hope to reach the large Indian diaspora in the MENA region by demonstrating OSN’s unique and diverse content offering, underpinning  our place as a market leader for the best in entertainment everywhere.”

Republic TV CEO, Vikas Khanchandani, said: “The demand from the market has been overwhelming and we are extremely delighted to bring Republic TV to the MENA audience, through OSN. We will also look to create original content specific to the MENA markets in due course, while Priya and her team will be offering advertisers the most impactful news media platform to discerning audiences in the region.”

The channel launches at November 5 at 2.00 GMT / 6.00 UAE on channel number 444 on OSN Pehla.