Discovery joins Arabic Quest

Discovery Communications has teamed up with Middle East producer Image Nation to launch a free-to-air Arabic-language channel in the region.

Mohammed Al Mubarak

Quest Arabiya will debut in the final quarter of 2015, offering both locally produced and acquired men’s lifestyle, factual and entertainment programming.

It will be aimed at men aged 16-44 but with content designed to appeal to the whole family, with key programming genres including adventure and survival; motoring; engineering; wildlife; history; and people and places.

Carl von Doussa, general manager of channels at Image Nation Abu Dhabi, will lead the new network.

James Gibbons

James Gibbons, exec VP for Discovery’s emerging business, said the channel would help the company expand its operations in the region and “broaden the popularity of factual entertainment and raise awareness of our seven channel brands in the region.”

Mohammed Al Mubarak, chairman of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, added: “Quest Arabiya will provide a needed boost to the private media sector in the UAE as we will be commissioning more content than ever before and producing at the highest international standards.”

Discovery already offers channels including free-to-air network Fatafeat, as well as pay TV networks Discovery Channel HD, TLC HD, Animal Planet HD, Discovery Science HD, ID: Investigation Discovery and Discovery World.