 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunication |
| Genre | Pay television |
| Founded | 10 August 1994; 30 years ago (1994-08-10) |
| Defunct | 14 September 2009; 15 years ago (2009-09-14) |
| Fate | Merged withShowtime Arabia intoOrbit Showtime |
| Headquarters | Manama,Bahrain |
| Services | Direct broadcast satellite Satellite Internet |
| Owner | Mawarid Holding |
| Divisions | Mediagates |
| Website | www |
Orbit Communications Company was a privately ownedpay television network headquartered inBahrain. Owned bySaudi Arabia–basedMawarid Holding (via Digital Media Systems),[1][2] it was the first fullydigital, multi-channel, multilingual, pay television service in theMiddle East andNorth Africa and was also the world's first fully end-to-end digital TV network.[3] Launched in 1994, it was originally situated in Tor Sapienza, Rome, Italy as the location was considered entirely suitable to build a satellite farm.[citation needed][4] Orbit employed around 600 employees[when?] who were largely a combination of British and Italian staff with several Arabic speaking nations also represented.[citation needed] Orbit broadcast in several languages around the world includingEnglish,Arabic,French andFilipino.
Some of Orbit's Arabic channels including Bahrain TV, Al Safwa, Fann, Al Yawm, Cinema 1, Cinema 2, Mousalsalat and Mousalsalat +2 and are available throughout North and South America throughmyTV.[5]
In 2009, to better compete with growing popularity offree-to-air channels andonline videos, the company merged withShowtime Arabia to formOSN.
Orbit had launched four multi-function interactive decoders:
This allowed the following features:
Up to 500 and more Free-to-air television and radio channels (includingArabsat,Nilesat andHotbird, based on type of connection).
On 1 April 2008,[6] after being on the air since 1994,[7]Orbit ESPN was dropped from the Orbit lineup. This left Orbit without coverage of theNCAA,Major League Baseball, theNational Basketball Association, theNational Hockey League,Major League Soccer, theNational Football League,NASCAR,IndyCar Series, major golf and tennis tournaments or ESPN's action sports franchise,X Games.
Fox Sports replacedOrbit ESPN on 13 January 2009.
One of the reasons that break the contract with ESPN is the severe financial problems happened at that time, since 1999-2000 the production graph line has been moved down. In 2009, a major delay in paying salaries for orbit employees in Egypt, Lebanon and KSA for more than four months.[citation needed]
BBC Arabic Television was originally transmitted via Orbit from 1994 until April 21, 1996, when it was taken off air by Orbit after the channel broadcast an episode of the BBCPanorama program critical of the Saudi Arabian government. Many of the BBC Arabic Television staff then went to work forAl Jazeera.[8] The BBC has since relaunched the channel autonomously in 2008.
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(The Following Packages are Orbit's Main Packages)(Packages May differ from Country to Another)
On 12 July 2009,Showtime Arabia and Orbit Communications Company announced a merger that created the “biggest Pay-TV platform” in theMiddle East andNorth Africa.[9]
The newly formed company, which is called OSN,[9] is an equal partnership that would offer 70 exclusive channels featuring newmovies,sports,series,Arabic content and international shows.
New customers can subscribe to packages featuring Showtime Arabia and Orbit's programs, while existing subscribers will be able to either retain or upgrade their content. The company will offerHD channels,video on demand and otherinteractive services.