The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (), widely known as LBCI (), Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation () or LBC () is a private television station in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. LBCI was founded in 1992 by acquiring the assets, liabilities and logo of LBC, an entity founded in 1985 during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

by the

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

militia. LBCI went global in 1996 when it launched its satellite channel LBC ''Al-Fadha'iya Al-Lubnaniya'' () covering Lebanon, the Arab world, Europe,

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, Australia and Africa.

History

Post-war era

The

, a Lebanese militia that had founded LBC in 1985, was militarily and financially weakened by the

Lebanese civil war The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

which ended in 1990 and its leader

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

was imprisoned in 1994. In 1992,

Pierre El Daher Pierre Youssef El Daher (, born 4 October 1957) is a Lebanese businessman and the CEO of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) television. Business life El Daher began his career as a businessman by founding Lebanese Br ...

had founded LBCI along with other shareholders and registered it at the Commercial Register of Baabda. In April 1996, El Daher and other shareholders launched LBCsat, a free satellite channel. The new channel was a success, disseminated throughout the world, especially attracting the Lebanese diaspora. In 2003, as a result of an agreement between

Saleh Kamel Saleh Abdullah Kamel (1941 – 18 May 2020) ( ''Ṣaleḥ 'Abdullāh Kamel'') was a Saudi billionaire businessman. He had a net worth estimated at US$2.3 billion, as of March 2017. He was the chairman and founder of the Dallah al Baraka Group ( ...

, founder of LMH company (Lebanese Media Holding, owner of 49% of LBC SAT and Pac's shares) and Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal, the latter, through Kingdom, replaced Kamel in LMH. By the end of 2008, it was decided to increase the capital of LMH considerably. Accordingly, Al-Waleed Bin Talal became the largest shareholder after acquiring the absolute majority in PAC (a content provider for both LBCI and LBC SAT) and LBC SAT, based on an understanding that the capital increase would be invested to improve the programs’ network and upgrade productivity under the supervision of Sheikh Pierre Daher. In 2010,

Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...

joined the group and PAC and LBC SAT were merged with Rotana. Rumor was that this merger would improve and develop the group. These expectations did not materialize.

Al Hayat and LBC SAT merger

At the end of the year 2002, LBC SAT and the London-based '' Al Hayat'' newspaper owned by Saudis, merged their news programs. LBC SAT daily news bulletin was called the "Al Hayat-LBC SAT news bulletin". The cooperation ended in 2010.

Ownership

According to the Media Ownership Monitor, an initiative by

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

and the

Samir Kassir Samir Kassir (; 5 May 1960 – 2 June 2005) was a Lebanese-Palestinian journalist of '' An-Nahar'' and professor of history at Saint-Joseph University, who was an advocate of democracy and prominent opponent of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. ...

Foundation, the majority owner of the station is

and his family who owns 50.6% share since 1992. before

bought it, it was previously owned by the

. Other key shareholders include former

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Issam Fares Issam Fares (born 1937) is a Lebanese businessman, former member of the Parliament of Lebanon and Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. Early life Issam Michael Fares was born in Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli, Lebanon, in 1937. He was educated at Tripoli ...

and his son Najad, who own 10% each. Maroun Jazzar owns 4.4%, Investcom, which is owned by Prime Minister Najib Mikati's family, has a 4% share and Salah Osseiran also has a 4% share.

Television channels

Domestic

* LBCI, shortened for LBC International (widely known as LBC Al-Lubnaniyya or LBC Lebanon and shortly known as LBC) – a local and terrestrial channel for Lebanese viewers broadcasting a variety of programs of different genres. * LDC (widely known as LBC Drama) – a local channel dedicated to around the clock reruns of entertainment shows and series. * LBC Sat (widely known as LBC Al-Fadha'iyya Al-Lubnaniyya) - a free-to-air channel dedicated to Foreign viewers. It was launched 1 April 1996. Since 2012, it is part of the

Rotana Media Group Rotana Media Group, commonly known as Rotana (), is a Saudi Arabian entertainment company. It is primarily owned by Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal through Kingdom Holding Company. The media conglomerate includes a film production company ( ...

International

* LBC Europe – an international version of LBCI targeted to Lebanese citizens in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. * LBC America – the international version of LBCI is targeted at Lebanese citizens in America. In December 2019, LBCI announced that the LDC brand would be discontinued by the beginning of the year 2020 and that all programs will be broadcast via LBCI. The main reason behind the decision was that the LDC branding was no longer needed since the battle for the LBC brand and channels with Al Walid Bin Talal has been resolved and won by LBCI current owner, Pierre El Daher.

Defunct

* Lebanese Diaspora Channel (LDC) – an international version of LBCI targeted to Lebanese in

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

countries. * LBCI News – local channel that focuses on broadcasting the most actual news. * LBC Australia – the international version of LBCI is targeted at Lebanese citizens in Australia. * LBC Africa – the international version of LBCI is targeted at Lebanese in Africa. * LBC Maghreb – international version of LBCI targeted at Lebanese citizens in the Middle East and North Africa. * LBC plus – an international version of LBC Sat targeted to subscribed viewers. * Waw – an international version of LBC Sat targeted to subscribed viewers. * LBC Nagham – an international channel focusing on music clips and reality TV shows. * C33 – local channel with focus on French programming.

Logos

File:LBCI DRAMA.png, LBCI Drama logo File:LBCI News logo.png, LBCI News logo File:LBCI HD logo.png, LBCI HD logo File:LDC logo new.png, LDC logo File:EUROPE FINAL.png, LBC Europe logo File:Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation America (logo).png, LBC America logo File:LBC Australia.png, LBC Australia logo

Programs

LBCI has produced many shows including: ''

Star Academy Arab World ''Star Academy Arab World'' or ''Star Academy Arabia'', is an Arab world televised talent show, which aired from 19 December 2003, to 29 January 2016. The show features a group of young male and female candidates who are selected from a pan-Arab ...

'', ''Ya Katel Ya Maktoul'' (Arabic version of ''

Greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

''), ''

Miss Lebanon Miss Lebanon () is the national beauty pageant of Lebanon. The winner is a representative of the Ministry of Tourism (Lebanon), Ministry of Tourism and is sent to represent Lebanon at Miss Universe and Miss World. History Since 1995, the pagea ...

'', ''Hellha wo Ehtalha'' (Arabic version of French TV Show '' Fort Boyard''), ''

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...

'' Middle East, and ''

El Wadi EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

'' (Arabic version of '' The Farm''). Its most famous talk show is ''

Kalam Ennas ''Ilm al-kalam'' or ''ilm al-lahut'', often shortened to ''kalam'', is the scholastic, speculative, or rational study of Islamic theology (''aqida''). It can also be defined as the science that studies the fundamental doctrines of Islamic fait ...

'' () hosted by Marcel Ghanem. The show, which originally aired on C33, moved to LBC after C33 was shut down in the mid-1990s. * ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. It was created by Eli Holzman and was hosted by Heidi Klum from 2004 to 2017. It has a varied airi ...

'' * ''

Arabs Got Talent ''Arabs Got Talent'' () is an Arab reality television talent show broadcast by MBC 1 in the Arab world; it is produced by the MBC and was first broadcast on 14 January 2011. The show features contestants with a variety of talents, such as singin ...

'' * ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

'' * '' The Voice'' * ''

Ahmar Bel Khat El Arid Ahmar Bel Khat Al Areed ("In Red Boldface", ) is a talk show that discusses a variety of controversial social and human issues airing on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, a privately owned television station in Lebanon. The flagship show whic ...

'' * ''

The Winner Is ''The Winner Is'' is an American singing competition television series which aired on NBC. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the seven-episode series featured singers of all ages competing for a chance to win $1,000,000. The concept of the show revolved aro ...

'' * ''

Celebrity Duets ''Celebrity Duets'' is an American reality television show, of the progressive game-show type, which combined celebrities of different backgrounds with professional singers in a weekly elimination competition. History The show was a take-off of t ...

'' * ''

Top Chef Middle East ''Top Chef'' is an Arabic-language reality competition series based on the American television series of the same name. The contestants compete against each another in culinary challenges and are judged by the show presenter Siham Tueni, head che ...

'' * ''

Beirut I Love You ''Beirut I Love You'' is a Lebanese television/web-series which aired on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC). The series stars Mounia Akl and Cyril Aris, both of whom developed the show. Concept The series follows several 20-somethings ...

'' * ''

Basmat Watan ''Basmat Watan'' () is a political satire and slapstick programme that airs via the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, a privately owned television station in Lebanon. The writer of the show, Charbel Khalil, began work on the program in 1995 and in ...

'' * ''

Kids Power Kids Power is a Lebanese children's television show that first aired on 2 September 2003 on Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (), widely known as LBCI (), Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation ( ...

'' * ''

The Brothers Grunt ''The Brothers Grunt'' is an adult animated comedy television series, and the earliest series made by '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' creator Danny Antonucci. It originally aired from August 15, 1994, to April 9, 1995, on MTV. It centers on five humanoid ...

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

'' * ''

Inside Game ''Inside Game'' is a 2019 American sports drama written by Andy Callahan and directed by Randall Batinkoff and starring Scott Wolf, Eric Mabius, Will Sasso, and Lindsey Morgan. This film is based on the 2007 NBA betting scandal and centers on To ...

'' * ''

Sunday Mass Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term ''Mass'' is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. The term is also used in many ...

'' * '' Splash!'' * ''

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

'' * ''

Gladiators A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

'' * ''

Motorsports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the po ...

'' * '' Perfect Bride'' * ''دمى قراطية (Douma Qrattiyeh/Douma Kratiyah)''

LBCI personalities

Malek Maktabi Malek Maktabi (or Malik Maktaby, , born in Beirut on 10 November 1981) is a Lebanese television presenter who is known for hosting '' Ahmar Bil Khatt Al Aarid'' (Red in Boldface), a weekly talk show about social and human issues, which runs on ...

* Albert Kostanian * Raneem Bou Khzam * Roula Haddad * Carla Haddad * Mario Aboud * Ragheda Shalhoub * Rodolph Hilal * Maya Abou Elhosn * Rahaf Abdalla * Anita Suliman * Sandra Aboud * George Souidi * George Yones * Amal Shihade * Perla Najjar * Yara Dergham * Nada Indraous * Elio Shamas * Joe Farshakh * Rawad Taha * Bassam Abu Zaid *

Yazbek Wehbe Yazbek (alternatively Yazbek, Yasbeck or Yazbeck or Yesbeck, also Yazbak) is a Levantine Arabic surname. The word in Arabic language, Arabic derived from the Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish title بك‎ “''Bey, Beik''” – the design ...

* Nisreen Zawahra * John Ashkar *

Hicham Haddad Hicham Haddad (Arabic: هشام حداد; born 12 August 1978) is a Lebanese comedian, actor and TV show host, currently presenting the show ''Ktir Hal2ad''. Biography He was born in Beirut on August 12, 1978, and is originally from the sou ...

* Mouhamad Kais * Toni Khalife * Majdala Khattar * Mirna Daou

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LBC 1985 establishments in Lebanon Television channels and stations established in 1985 Arabic-language television stations Television networks in Lebanon Television stations in Lebanon

History

Post-war era

Al Hayat and LBC SAT merger

Ownership

Television channels

Domestic

International

Defunct

Logos

Programs

LBCI personalities

See also

References

External links