<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2021/09/15/the-hope-making-business-how-mbc-changed-arab-television-in-30-years/" target="_blank">MBC</a> is the Mena region's new exclusive broadcaster for all World Wrestling Entertainment content. As part of the deal, the pan-Arab broadcaster will launch a dedicated <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/wwe/" target="_blank">WWE</a> channel under the subscription tier of its streaming platform Shahid, from Saturday. The channel will show live weekly episodes, with Arabic subtitles, of <i>Smackdown</i> on Saturdays at 5am in the UAE and <i>Raw</i> on Tuesdays, also at 5am. WWE’s annual marquee event, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/wwe-s-mustafa-ali-on-wrestlemania-37-and-ramadan-it-s-a-very-eye-opening-humbling-experience-1.1200296" target="_blank"><i>WrestleMania</i></a>, will also stream on the platform on April 3 and 4 with broadcast times to be announced soon. Up to 10,000 hours of content will be made available to Shahid subscribers, sourced from the WWE Network’s 40-year catalogue of new and archival content. Those not subscribed to Shahid will also benefit from the agreement with free-to-air channel MBC Action, broadcasting one-hour highlights packages of <i>Raw</i> and <i>Smackdown</i> each week, including WWE magazine shows <i>Afterburn </i>and <i>Main Event.</i> Natasha Hemingway, Shahid chief commercial and marketing office, said the move comes on the back of WWE's growing popularity in the kingdom, including the recent staging of three live <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2021/10/02/wwe-crown-jewel-becky-lynch-sasha-banks-and-bianca-belair-are-coming-to-saudi-arabia/" target="_blank"><i>WWE Crown Jewel</i> </a>wrestling events in Riyadh. “It’s no secret that WWE is massively popular in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Mena region,” she said. “This new partnership is sure to be incredibly exciting for fans, and with more and more live sporting events — including WWE — coming to the kingdom, we cannot wait to see where this partnership takes us.” WWE president Nick Khan said: “By delivering our premium live events including <i>WrestleMania</i> and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/television/2021/08/22/wwe-summerslam-top-moments-becky-lynch-and-brock-lesnar-return-to-the-ring/" target="_blank"><i>SummerSlam</i></a>, our weekly programming including <i>Raw </i>and <i>SmackDown</i>, as well as WWE’s massive library, we believe we will expand our reach throughout the Middle East and North Africa.” The announcement also comes as Shahid previews some of its Ramadan line-up of series on social media channels, including the thriller <i>Mishwar</i>, starring Egyptian actor and rapper <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/egypt/2021/08/02/exclusive-egypts-mohamed-ramadan-reveals-journey-from-poor-suburbs-to-superstar-success/" target="_blank">Mohamed Ramadan</a>, and the third season of Saudi period drama <i>Al Asouf</i> with Nasser Al Qasabi. <i>More information is available at </i><a href="http://shahid.mbc.net/" target="_blank"><i>shahid.mbc.net</i></a><i>.</i>
