WWE has issued the following press release:
OSN TO LAUNCH WWE® NETWORK IN THE MIDDLE EAST
DUBAI, UAE and STAMFORD, CONN., February 12, 2015 – OSN, the leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced a five-year partnership to distribute WWE Network as a premium, linear channel in time for WrestleMania® on Sunday, March 29, exclusively on OSN.
The agreement will run concurrent with WWE and OSN’s existing partnership to air WWE’s flagship programming, Raw® and SmackDown®, as well as NXT®, Superstars and more in the region.
OSN subscribers will be able to access the premium linear network via their set top boxes, and anytime, anywhere on multiple devices via OSN Play and through authenticated access via WWE Network apps. WWE Network will also be offered in the region on a direct-to-consumer basis through the WWE app, available on GO by OSN.
“OSN has a long standing relationship with WWE and we are very excited to be expanding that relationship further with the exclusive carriage of the WWE Network,” said Andy Warkman OSN’s VP, Sport and Production “We will be co-branding the linear channel OSN WWE Network HD and following on from our enhanced TV deal renewal last year, this is great news for WWE fans in the Middle East & North Africa region. We are looking forward to launching the Network in the coming weeks and cementing our position as the Home of WWE in the region.”
“OSN is the leader in pay television in the Middle East and North Africa, and we are excited to expand our partnership and further our reach within the region by adding WWE Network as a premium, linear channel,” said Gerrit Meier, WWE Executive Vice President, International. “WWE is committed to growing our brand globally and this agreement illustrates the flexibility we have in rolling out WWE Network around the world, offering our fans an extraordinary experience.”
WWE Network is available in more than 170 countries and territories and recently surpassed 1 million subscribers just 11 months after launch, making it the fastest-growing digital subscription service. WWE Network’s one-of-a-kind programming includes all 12 WWE pay-per-view events LIVE at no additional charge plus groundbreaking original series, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches, exclusive coverage of special events and nearly 3,000 hours of video-on-demand content.