MBC 4 (Arabic: إم بي سي 4) is a free-to-air Saudi Arabian entertainment television channel owned by the MBC Group. It primarily targets female audiences. The channel broadcasts international programming with Arabic subtitles and is particularly known for airing dubbed Turkish drama series, alongside lifestyle and reality programming.
History
MBC 4 was a spin-off of MBC 2[1] that began airing on 1 February 2005. Originally intended to provide Western news and entertainment to liberal adults, MBC 4 later transitioned to concentrate on women viewers. Programming on MBC 4 is supported by advertising.[2] Its tagline is "So You can Watch What They Watch".[3]
Programming
MBC 4 airs series and talk shows[4] from the United States, Turkey,[5] United Kingdom, and Australia,[6] subtitled in Arabic.[7] Kissing or intimate scenes are typically edited out of programs from other countries.[8]
It broadcast the Turkish soap operas Kiraz Mevsimi[12] and Nour[13], but airing of Turkish programmes was suspended in 2018 due to political tensions between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.[14] Turkish series later returned to the channel, with a temporary removal in 2023 due to political issues, before broadcasts resumed as relations improved.[15]
MBC 4 also airs original Arabic programmes. As of 2022, the reality TV show Stars of Science has aired on MBC 4 for 14 seasons.[16] MBC 4 aired a version of The X Factor for the Arab world.[17] In 2022, MBC 4 aired the original series Stiletto.[18]
↑Armbrust, W.; Wise, L. (2005). Culture Wars: The Arabic Music Video Controversy. Transnational broadcasting studies. Adham Center for Television Journalism, American University in Cairo. p.108. ISBN978-977-424-962-4. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Kraidy, M.M. (2010). Reality Television and Arab Politics: Contention in Public Life. ACLS Fellows' publications. Cambridge University Press. pp.25, 52. ISBN978-0-521-76919-8. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
12Poplak, R. (2009). Sheikhs Batmobile: In Pursuit Of American Pop Culture In The Muslim World. Penguin Canada. p.99. ISBN978-0-14-317289-5. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Rinnawi, K.; Mellor, N.; Dajani, N.; Ayish, M.I. (2013). Arab Media: Globalization and Emerging Media Industries. Global Media and Communication. Polity Press. p.23. ISBN978-0-7456-3736-5. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Mingant, N. (2022). Hollywood Films in North Africa and the Middle East: A History of Circulation. SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema. State University of New York Press. p.2010. ISBN978-1-4384-8856-1. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Artz, L.; Kamalipour, Y.R. (2007). The Media Globe: Trends in International Mass Media. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Rowman & Littlefield. p.84. ISBN978-0-7425-4094-1. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Faiq, S. (2019). Arabic Translation Across Discourses. Routledge Studies in Language and Identity (in Basque). Taylor & Francis. p.219. ISBN978-1-351-06337-1. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Hammond, A. (2007). What the Arabs Think of America. Greenwood World Pub. p.41. ISBN978-1-84645-000-6. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Ranzato, I.; Zanotti, S. (2018). Linguistic and Cultural Representation in Audiovisual Translation. Routledge Advances in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Taylor & Francis. pp.94–95. ISBN978-1-351-97638-1. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Alghamdi, Mohammed Ghazi (4 December 2021). "Neocolonizing the Nation: American Pop Culture and Saudi Television". Forum for World Literature Studies. 13 (4): 714. GaleA702035711.
↑"The US embassy cables Middle East". The Guardian. 8 December 2010. p.8. GaleA243810066.
↑Booker, M.K.; Daraiseh, I. (2019). Consumerist Orientalism: The Convergence of Arab and American Popular Culture in the Age of Global Capitalism. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp.162, 239. ISBN978-1-83860-068-6. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Jaafar, Ali (29 July 2008). "Saudi morality play". Daily Variety. Vol.300, no.17. p.4. GaleA183489181.
↑Tamimi, Jumana Al (5 March 2018). "Call to cultivate Arab dramas after MBC pulls plug on Turkish soaps". Saudi – Gulf News. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑"Turkish Super Cup between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in Saudi Arabia cancelled". Goal. 20 December 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
↑"Stars of Science". Stars of Science. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑""Little Mix" to launch The X Factor Arabia season 3 in Dubai". Al Bawaba. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
↑Abumuhor, Alex (8 September 2022). "Everything You Need to Know About The Cast of Stiletto". Al Bawaba. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
External links
MBC 4Archived 8 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine at Telebisyon.net