Fox launches three new channels in the UAE

Three new pay channels, Fox Life, Fox Crime and an Arabic channel, Fox Rewayat, will soon be available to UAE viewers through Etisalat’s eLife.

The launch event for the channels, which took place on September 28 at The Fridge in Dubai’s Al Alserkal Avenue, was a supremely creative affair.

After the various dignitaries – including Dubai-based Sanjay Raina, general manager and senior vice-president of Fox Networks Group Middle East, and Humaid Sahoo, chief executive of Etisalat’s eVision – made their opening comments, darkened corners of the dimly lit space suddenly came to life, with actors from the upcoming shows putting in an appearance, in full character and costume.

A blood-curdling scream resonated from the Fox Crime “arena”, while two girls posed astride their Harley-Davidsons, and a Nigella Lawson lookalike invited guests for a “blind tasting”.

Elsewhere, a home décor team showed guests how to build their own terrariums, while a detective posing as a server handed out delicious fish tacos, all the while asking guests if they had noticed clues that might lead him to his missing sister, Christina.

The shows in question ranged from crime series The Runaways and travel series The Open Show to cooking contest The Taste and DIY interior design show The Home Team, among others – and just some of the programmes that will be made available via the new Fox channels.

Etisalat’s engagement with the content and channels managed by the Fox group goes back over a decade, with Fox Action and FX having launched on eLife just last year.

Of the three new channels, Raina says: "Fox Crime is the first channel in the region to focus full-fledged on crime and investigative shows. Fox Life will have food, home, travel, leisure and wellness. This channel also marks our foray into local production – with our travel show The Open Road, which follows two women as they make their way around the UAE and two other Middle East countries [Jordan and Lebanon] on bikes. Rewayat will have curated dramas and hit series from all over the world, which will be dubbed in Arabic."

Some of the other lifestyle shows that viewers can look forward to include: Quick & Easy Food with chef Jamie Oliver, Jamie & Jimmy's Food Fight Club, Ultimate Homes, Boys Weekend and Ready Set Reno, among others.

“Our aim is to showcase interesting stories because, ultimately, good content will always be appreciated,” says Raina. And if the creative display put up at the launch event is anything to go by, viewers have much to look forward to from the last quarter of this year.