MBC MAX apologises for airing ‘obscene’ film

MBC MAX, a major Saudi satellite TV movie channel who has come under fire for showing a film containing nude women and other obscene scenes, has apologised to its viewers and said an internal investigation is underway to determine the error.

A press statement sent to Emirates 24l7 said that the channel had aired “Into The Wild” film whose edited version was aired previously a number of times but an unedited version went on air on November 7 for an unknown reason. The MBC MAX viewers called for punishment of those responsible.

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MBC Max under fire over 'obscene' film showing

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Ali Jaber, Group TV Director at MBC Group, said: "The film was screened several times in the past, in its edited form, excluding any of the aforementioned scenes. Therefore the recent mistake of screening the unedited version could have resulted from either the digital move- “tapeless”- in line with the recent technologies and developments taking place within the organization, contrary to what had prevailed in the past or due to an unintentional human error”.

Jaber said: “In any case, and as we arrive to the actual reasons behind this error, MBC MAX would like to apologise to its viewers for any cause of embarrassment that they were put under, and we confirm our commitment to take the necessary and appropriate action- technical and resourceful- ensuring that such mistakes will not be repeated in the future, as MBC Group is committed to the appropriateness of the content it screens that has been targeting family members for more than 20 years”.

MBC Group is the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World which was launched in London in 1991 and later moved to its headquarters in Dubai in 2002.

A Saudi daily had earlier reported that MBC MAX viewers called the newspaper’s office, blasting the channel and calling for stricter penalty to the culprit who aired the obscene scenes.

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