Abu Dhabi to host Arabic Daily Show?

Apparently all those Ramadan ratings for Tash Ma Tash have gotten somebody's attention. MTV International, the division of Viacom in charge of its namesake as well as other top-shelf cable brands like Comedy Central and Nickelodeon, just announced it was trying up with twofour54 to launch Comedy Central Studios Arabia.

This is not a channel, but a rare production deal for Viacom, which saw the Ipsos ratings for Ramadan and wants of some "skin in the game", according to twofour54's Tony Orsten, in the Arabic-speaking market.

They've got some well clothed climbs in the game already, in the form of their tie-ups with Arab Media Group over the last couple years to launch MTV Arabia and Nickelodeon. But these are essentially Western formats. What's different here is that Arabic-language sitcoms, sketch comedy shows and stand-up will be made through the studios headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and then sold to the region's broadcasters.

It will be interesting to see how they balance Comedy Central's high production standards against this region's traditionally rock-bottom prices for content. Mr Orsten said that's the name of the game, to produce content at prices that MBC, Abu Dhabi TV, Rotana and the rest of them will actually buy. Not easy, but definitely exciting.

Oh, and while most of the formats will probably be local, MTV will also be able to import its tried-and-true Western formats when they work. This means that an Arabic-language Daily Show, anchored in Abu Dhabi, is not outside the realm of possibility.