Orbit Clinches Exclusive Warner Bros Deal - Pay-TV Network Wraps Up Middle East With “First See” Rights To Movies & Series

(April 12, 2006 - Dubai, UAE) - Orbit viewers in the Middle East region are set to be offered some of the industry’s best movies and top rated series following a long-term deal agreed between Orbit Communications Company with the leading US studio, Warner Bros International Television Distribution. The deal gives Orbit eighteen months of exclusive screening rights for top films, award-winning series and chat shows produced by Warner Bros after which they become available on Free-To-Air television. The long term multiyear deal, giving Orbit long-term exclusivity rights in the Middle East and North Africa for 1st Pay and 2nd Pay television, was announced jointly by Samir Abdulhadi President & CEO of Orbit Communications Company and Jeffrey Schlesinger, President Warner Bros International Television at a press conference on Wednesday 12th April, at the Fairmont Hotel, Dubai. Orbit's Khulud Abu-Homos, Senior Vice President of Programming negotiated the deal with Mickie Steinman, Vice President, Sales, WBITD, affording Orbit an unbeatable advantage regionally and consolidating Orbit’s leading position in the Middle East with an unmatched range of movie and general entertainment content. Orbit viewers across the region can look forward to a spectacular line-up of blockbuster movies produced by Warner Bros studios. Movies in the coming season will include: "Syriana," "Batman Begins," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Polar Express," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "Around the Bend," "Ocean’s 12," "Constantine," "House of Wax," "Before Sunset," "Dukes of Hazard," "A Cinderella Story" and many more. Warner Bros.’ top-rated television drama series and comedy shows coming up on Orbit are: "Invasion," "Close to Home," "Supernatural," "Rome" (Season 2), "Sopranos" (Season 6), "Veronica Mars," "Nip/Tuck" (Season 3), "Cold Case" (Season 2), "The O.C." (Season 2), "One Tree Hill" (Season 2), "Without a Trace" (Season 3), "The West Wing" (Season 7), "Gilmore Girls" (Season 5), "Smallville" (Season 4), "Everwood" (Season 3), "Two and a Half Men" (Season 3), "Twins," "The War at Home," "Freddie," "Blue Collar TV," "Joey" (Season 2), "Curb your Enthusiasm" (Season 5), "Related," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "ER" (Season 12) to name a few. During the long term multiyear deal, Orbit will be able to offer Middle East audiences around 250 feature films, 3000 hours of top-rated television series and 2000 hours of prime time variety talk shows. The Warner Bros deal gives Orbit a massive advantage over rivals, guaranteeing its long-term ability to further enrich an already enviable choice of Western programming, and enabling Orbit to continue to offer viewers exclusive “first see” access to the latest new seasons of action, drama, comedy series and reality shows plus blockbuster movies. As part of the deal Warner Bros also expects to see its features available in SVOD during the first window once Orbit has launched the service as an addition to its current service. New Line Cinema theatrical releases are also included in the deal, bringing an added range of movies from Warner Bros’ independent movie producer. New Line Cinema has produced a number of highly acclaimed movies including: "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy," "Gone With the Wind," "Austin Powers," "Monster In Law," "Wedding Crashers," "Kings Ransom," "A History of Violence," "The Man and Domino." “This hugely significant agreement is a delight for all of us at Orbit. It is a continuation and further strengthening of our relationship with Warner Bros and will enable us to make a long-term commitment to the continued delivery of world class programming to our subscribers throughout the Middle East and North Africa", said Samir M. Abdulhadi, President and CEO of Orbit. “We have long enjoyed a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with Orbit,” said Jeffrey Schlesinger, President WBITD, “We now can look forward to Orbit continuing to bring our world-class programming to audiences throughout the Middle East and North Africa.” About Orbit Orbit Communications Company is the world’‎s first fully digital, multi-channel, multi-lingual, pay television platform that broadcasts 39 television channels and 20 music radio stations to the Middle East and North Africa. Orbit’‎s premium packages of television and radio services offer an unrivalled variety of choices even for the most demanding television viewers and radio listeners. Orbit was created with a sole purpose in mind: to provide a vast selection of world-class entertainment and information in English, Arabic to an audience hungry for greater programme diversity. About Warner Bros. International Television Distribution Warner Bros. International Television Distribution is one of the world's largest distributors of feature films, television programs and animation to the international television marketplace (broadcast, pay cable, basic cable, satellite, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital platforms, etc.). It licenses some 50,000 hours of programming (including more than 6,000 ‎features and 74 current series), dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 ‎languages, to telecasters and cablecasters in more than 175 countries. # # #