Founded in 1991 by Gabriel El Murr, a Lebanese businessman[1] and brother of Lebanese politician Michel Murr.
MTV was shut down in 2002 as it was found guilty of violating article 68 of the electoral law of 1999 which bans propaganda during the election process,[1] but since other Lebanese channels did not comply with the law either, some observers suspect that the closure was due to MTV's criticism of the Lebanese government and of Syria. As well as lawsuit against MTV.[2]
In 2005, the Lebanese parliament decided to amend Article 68 and reopen the station after the Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon and the anti-Syrian opposition coalition won a majority in Lebanon's parliament, but the station remained closed.[1]
The station reopened seven years later, on 7 April 2009, two months before the 2009 parliamentary elections.[1]
Production
MTV partners with Studiovision and produces all its productions at their studios, which are in Lebanon and Dubai.[3]
Website and mobile application
To access premium content on MTV's website and mobile apps, a person outside Lebanon must subscribe. However, in Lebanon, people get premium features for free.[4]
Ownership
The Lebanese Ministry of Justice's Commercial Register mention five co-owners of MTV SAL. This includes 4 members of the Murr family who are Michel, Jyad, Carl and Carole Murr as well as Joseph Sarkis. The document does not detail the number of shares each hold.[5]
