Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation

Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation

Type	Broadcast and television network
Country	Lebanon
Availability	Lebanon Arab World Europe Australia Sub Saharian Africa America
Founded	by Bashir Gemayel, Lebanese Forces
Slogan	...Like no other! (Arabic: !ما في متلا...)
Owner	Pierre El Daher
Launch date	August 23rd, 1985 (television network)
Official website	www.lbci.com

The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (Arabic: المؤسسة اللبنانية للإرسال‎), widely known as LBC, is the first private television station in Lebanon. It went global in 1996 when it launched its satellite channel LBC Al-Fadha'iya Al-Lubnaniya (Arabic: الفضائية اللبنانية‎) covering the Arab World. It now has several channels covering Europe, America, Australia, and Sub Saharian Africa region. Currently, the channel is one of the most popular channels in Lebanon.

Post-War era

The Lebanese civil war ended in 1990 with the signing of the Taef agreement. The Lebanese Forces signed the agreement and held positions in the government, but still maintained an anti-Syrian position which was reflected in the LBC's news reporting. On July 23, 1992, the Lebanese government compelled LBC to evacuate its Jounieh premises without prior warning or notifications, before governmental troops took over the building. The station moved to Adma, several kilometers away. On March 23, 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the Lebanese Forces. And on April 21, 1994, Samir Geagea, leader of the party, was arrested. Pierre Daher, a co-founder who managed the station from its beginning, made sure that LBC survived this transitional phase. During the Syrian presence in Lebanon, the LBC political stance reflected the influences of its shareholders who varied throughout this period. LBCSAT, a free satellite channel, was launched in April 1996. The new channel was a success, especially to the Lebanese diaspora, disseminated throughout the world. LBCSAT has been broadcasting 22 hours a day since January 1997 and continues to rank first among stations in the Middle East. Shortly thereafter, within a period of three months, LBC launched three new encrypted and free-to-air channels: LBC Europe, LBC America, LBC Australia, and LBC Sub Saharian Africa. Today, all these channels broadcast around the clock. In December 2003, Alwaleed Bin Talal, the Saudi prince, bought 48% of the stocks of LBC Sat.

Al Hayat and LBC SAT merger

At the end of the year 2002, LBC Al-Fadha'iya Al-Lubnaniya (Arabic: الفضائية اللبنانية‎ ) and the London-based Al Hayat newspaper owned by Saudis, merged their news programs. LBC Al-Fadha'iya Al-Lubnaniya (Arabic: الفضائية اللبنانية‎ ) daily news report was called the "Al Hayat-LBC news report". In 2010, the cooperation stopped due to several issues.

LBC Saudi Desk

LBC launched in 2002 its Saudi Desk, which was responsible for Saudi-targeted programs on LBC SAT. In early 2010, LBC closed its Saudi Desk, ended all its Saudi-targeted shows.

Current ownership battle

After the Cedar Revolution and the release of Samir Geagea, the current leader (as of 18 Feb 2008) of the Lebanese Forces, the party started reestablishing itself and demanded that Daher surrender ownership of the TV station back to the party. Daher refused to do so, saying that "he will not allow the station to be subservient to a political party."

On November 16, 2007, hundreds of Lebanese Forces supporters gathered in front of LBC television in protest of the decision to cancel an interview with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. The interview was called off, after Geagea filed a lawsuit against Daher seeking to repossess LBC and restore its ownership back to the Lebanese Forces.

LBC brands

LBC Group of companies completes 26 years in operation:

Current Brands

• LBC LOCAL or LBC International:

•The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) was launched 23 August 1985. LBC is the first private TV station to be launched in Lebanon and a pioneer in the region. LBC Local or LBC International is by far the uncontested leader in the Lebanese market with an aprox 60% MS.

Lebanese Youth: (Primary target)

Young Lebanese Family: (Secondary Target)

• LBC SAT:

• Launched in 1996, LBC Sat, widely known as LBC Al-Fadha'iya Al-Lubnaniya (Arabic: الفضائية اللبنانية‎), is an international version of LBC targeted to viewers in the Arab World. only Digital DVB-T UHF.

• LBC EUROPE:

• LBC Europe is an international version of LBC targeted to Lebanese citizens in Europe.

• LBC AMERICA

• LBC America is an international version of LBC targeted to Lebanese citizens in America. Since early 2012, LBC America is exclusively available on myTV

• LBC AUSTRALIA

• LBC Australia is an international version of LBC targeted to Lebanese citizens in Australia.

• LBC SUB SAHARIAN AFRICA

• LBC Sub Saharian Africa is an international version of LBC targeted to Lebanese citizens in the Sub Saharian Africa region.

Defunct brands

This is a list of other LBC brands which were once launched, but later removed for various reasons.

• C33: C33 (pronounced Cée-trente-trois) was the French alternative to LBC's main channel, as in it used to broadcast programs mainly in French as opposed to the main channel that broadcasts mainly in Arabic. Although C33 did have some crucial shows in Arabic as well. Despite its success, the channel stopped its broadcast in the mid-1990s for reasons unclear.

• LBC Plus: LBC Plus was a separate subscription version of LBC Sat, and used to broadcast premium shows. Plus was launched a year after LBC Sat's debut, but it lasted only for a short while, and some of the shows on Plus later moved to LBC's free channels.

• LBC WOW: LBC WOW (Arabic: واو‎) was a separate subscription channel aimed for a younger adult audience. Like Plus, it did not last long, and some of its original shows were moved to other LBC channels. LBC WOW was originally established to compete with Future Television's Zein TV, a similar but freely-aired channel.

• LBC Nagham was a 24-hour, free-to-air channel that catered for the Arab youth with music interests. Filling a strategic consumer need gap, LBC Nagham, depended on a dual Arabic and English exclusive musical offering. Established in early 2003, ‘Nagham’ (meaning ‘tune’ in Arabic), as the brand name reflects, was one of the first specialized music channels launched in the region. As of July 15, 2011 'Nagham' stopped broadcasting.

Popular programs

LBC has produced many popular programs including Star Academy Arab World, Ya Katel Ya Maktoul (Arabic version of Greed), Miss Lebanon, Hellha wo Ehtalha (Arabic version of French TV Show Fort Boyard), Survivor Middle East, El Wadi (Arabic version of The Farm), The Perfect Bride and Mission Fashion.

Its most famous talk show is Kalam Ennas (Arabic: كلام الناس; which means "The word of the people"‎) hosted by Marcel Ghanem. The show, which originally aired on C33, moved to LBC after C33 was shut down in the mid-1990s. Another famous show is BassMat Watan (Arabic: ب س م ا ت و ط ن‎; a pun in Lebanese for either "The smiles of the Nation" or "When the nation died", depending on how people see the joke of this title), a sketch-comedy show that deals with politics and current events.

• Ahmar Bel Khat El Arid
• Kalam Ennas
• Akhbar.com
• Nharkom Said
• Celebrity Duets ديو المشاهير
• Top Chef Middle East
• Beirut I Love You
• Arqam Btehki
• In Touch
• Basmat Watan
• Douma Kratiya
• Helwi w Murra
• Zefou El Arous
• Lezim Taaref
• Kids Power
• Nehna Labaad
• Bala Mazeh
• Tele Auto
• Star Academy Arab World

LBC personalities

Present

• Dima Sadek
• Annabella Hilal
• Bassam Abou Zaid
• Bruna Tohme
• Carla Haddad
• Carla Younis
• Chantal Srour
• Dalal Abou Haydar
• Dina Azar
• Dolly Ghanem
• Elize Farah
• Fadia Dokmak
• Francois Habchi
• George Ghanem
• Ghayath Dibra
• Hilda Khalife
• Malek Maktabi
• Marcel Ghanem
• May Mata
• Mirielle Akiki
• Tony Baroud
• Rima Assaf
• Sana Nasr
• Wafaa Kilani
• Yazbek Wehbe

See also

• Television in Lebanon

External links

• Official site (Arabic) (English)
• LBC FanClub (Arabic) (English)