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  • Lebanese TV goes on, despite attacks

    Lebanese TV goes on, despite attacks
    MBC, LBC proceed with planned broadcasts

    Variety
    February 1, 2008
    By HABIB BATTAH

    BEIRUT -- The massive car bombing in Beirut on Jan. 25 could not have
    come at a worse time for Arab television giants MBC and LBC. Hours
    after the attack, which killed one of Lebanon's top terror
    investigators, both networks were to air big-budget shows live across
    the Middle East from studios within the Lebanese capital.

    But as the nation reeled from its ninth high-profile assassination in
    three years, producers at both networks had concluded that their
    much-anticipated programs would go on as scheduled.

    Featuring an elaborately lit set, and despite an official day of
    mourning declared by Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora, cameras
    rolled and catchy signature music cued as LBC unveiled the fifth
    season of its hit reality series "Star Academy."

    The season premiere of the Endemol-licensed show opened with lavish
    dance displays including a cover performance of the massive club hit,
    "Love Is Gone" by David Guetta. As one of the contestants sang the
    track while strumming an electric guitar, go-go dancers gyrating
    behind him ripped off their cloth tops beneath an artificial on-stage
    rain shower. The effect was just a peek at the high-powered season
    ahead, the host warned with a wry smile.

    Meanwhile at competitor MBC, the attack -- one of the deadliest since
    the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 -- coincided
    with a star-studded broadcast of its new variety showcase, "Al Arrab,"
    featuring popular Lebanese Armenian host Nishan Der Haroutiounian,
    widely known simply as Nishan.

    He opened the show by paraphrasing a quote by Bob Marley, telling his
    audience that following an assassination attempt on the reggae star's
    life, he had vowed, "never to take one day off."

    "Who else other than the Lebanese people have grown adamant enough to
    withstand the challenges of politics," he told viewers across the
    region.

    Nishan told Variety he had persuaded network mangers at Dubai-based
    MBC that his show would be aired from Beirut, despite a broadcast
    rescheduling following a previous assassination last year.

    "It was one of my demands that I start the show from Lebanon," he
    said. "I personally believe that as a Lebanese citizen, if I leave
    Lebanon for my career -- like so many other people have done -- then
    this country would be emptied."

    A similar sense of resilience was reflected at LBC, indicating that
    despite the intensifying violence, Lebanon remains an essential
    production location.

    "The show must go on," said LBC spokeswoman Sana Iskandar in a
    statement. "The Lebanese people made their choice years ago to proceed
    in challenging bombs and terrorism. And we, as Lebanese, are proud to
    confirm our will for life and surviving through all ordeals."
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