Viacom 18 & IndiaCast launch MTV India in Middle East & North Africa, expanding MTV India's footprint to 31 countries

IndiaCast, TV18 and Viacom18’s venture, announced the launch of the international version of MTV India in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region which is the month of August, 2012. MTV India, featuring Music & Youth Reality content from India in Hindi language, will complement Viacom International Media Networks’ (VIMN) existing MTV channel, which services the Middle East and North Africa region with Arabic and international music and entertainment content. MTV India is IndiaCast's second channel in the region after its flagship channel COLORS which launched in September 2010. IndiaCast team in Dubai, which currently distributes and handles advertising sales for COLORS, will be managing the distribution & sales for MTV India as well in the region. This launch expands the offering for advertisers in the region, allowing them to reach both Family and Youth audiences. With this launch, MTV India's international distribution footprint now spans 31 countries, while COLORS is available in close to 50 countries. Speaking about this launch, Gaurav Gandhi, COO – IndiaCast, said, “Indians are passionate about their music and Hindi Music in particular has a huge following both in India and overseas. The launch of MTV India in the Middle East & North Africa region, will give an opportunity for the South Asian and other audiences to connect with the Indian music and reality programming that they love most. MTV India is our second brand in the region and we intend to grow our presence here with more offerings from our extensive news and regional channel portfolio in the near future.” Adding to this, Aditya Swamy, Business Head – MTV India, said, “MTV India has constantly engaged and entertained young India and now the opportunity to do so with young people in the other countries is very exciting. While we will leverage our cult franchises such as Roadies, Unplugged and Rush in these markets, we will also look at some region specific initiatives which will resonate with the local audience.” MTV India will be available on Pehla branded packs across DTH, Cable, IPTV and SMATV across Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan and Mauritiana. MTV India will also be launching on other platforms shortly.