The first mention of the project came within the coverage of MTV's 25th anniversary in 2006, and was revealed by Faisal Abbas, the media editor of the London-based pan-Arab daily, Asharq Al-Awsat, which reported that MTV is "very interested in the Arab satellite channel market" and quoted Dean Possenniskie, the network's vice president and general manager for emerging markets, saying, "Hopefully [we] will be in the market in the next 24 months" but "it all depends on finding the right local partners".

[3] MTV Europe was previously available in the region through a special deal with Showtime Arabia.

The Showtime Arabia channel provided some Arabic music videos and a locally produced program called "Mashaweer" that later got renamed "Salaam" whose hosts included regional DJ Madjam & main host Susie iliyan.

The channel aims to be a platform for the Arab youth, letting their opinions be a large factor in future programming.

It will be likely that MTV Arabia will be pushing local R&B and hip hop music, which other Arab music stations like Rotana and Melody don't heavily feature says Patrick Samaha the General Manager of MTV Arabia.