Israeli TV accused of 'piracy' after airing Arabic drama

An Israeli television channel is airing an Egyptian drama without permission, reports suggest, in a move that is angering the MBC Group which holds exclusive rights to the series.

Society

1 min read

The New Arab

22 January, 2017

An Israeli television channel is reportedly airing an Egyptian drama without permission [AFP]

Israel's state television channel was accused of "piracy" after it began advertising an Arabic-owned series exclusive to the Dubai-based MBC Group, reports suggest.

Channel 33 announced it will broadcast al-Ostoura series (The Legend) on Sundays and Thursdays every week, twice a day, despite not obtaining a licence to do so.

"What happened is piracy," Mazen Hayek, spokesperson for the Middle East Broadcast Corporation which owns exclusive rights to broadcast the series told al-Masry al-Youm.

Al-Ostoura is an Arabic-language series produced by a subsidiary company of the MBC group and has so far only been broadcast on channels run by the corporation.

No other channel holds rights to transmit the series.

Israel's Channel 33, which began broadcasting in 1994 under the orders of former president Shimon Peres, hosts a large number of Arabic content.

The channel transmits to much of the Middle East and as well as Europe, and attempts to reach out in a bid to promote Israel and change its image among Arabic speakers.