Saudi Arabia Goes For Full On Entertainment, After Opening Cinemas Announces Movie Channels

"We aim to be at the front of the pack from the first day," said Shirian. "We are not afraid of the weight of competitors and we will overtake them quickly".

The channel will be competing with leading Saudi private networks in the Middle East, including MBC and Rotana.

But the competition doesn't seem too fazed, for the time being.

"We have always been in favour of competition," said Mazen Hayek, a spokesman for MBC. "The tougher the race, the sweeter the victory." In Dubai, SBC has launched a campaign with the slogan, "You are forced to love it", a play on words, because Saudis in the past would joke they were forced to watch limited state programmes.

The Rotana group replied in a Tweet "You can't force love." MBC chief Walid Al-Ibrahim and Rotana's Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal were among the hundreds of high-profile Saudis detained over alleged corruption last year, their clout and businesses put on the line.

Rumours have swirled that the media titans were pressured to hand over major stakes in those channels in order to secure their release.

Those reports have never been confirmed, but Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb in January said $107 billion was recovered in the wide-ranging crackdown in assets including property, securities and cash.