MUMBAI: On Sky Digital's front, news is that the digital platform has discontinued four Arabic TV channels. The news came as a surprise as no announcements were made and the four channels suddenly ceased to broadcast on Sky Digital from 1 October.

According to media reports, the four channels ART Movies, ART Music, MBC, LBC were launched together earlier this year. They have now have been removed from the Sky EPG following a dispute with Sky. The media reports indicate that it is unlikely that the channels will return.

The announcement comes close on heels of another channel being shunted by Sky. Last week, Sky EPG 844 took off Bollywood Films.

The Red Hot Films owned pay-per-view service had been struggling to garner in profits due to stiff competition from other Asian TV giants and hence Sky decided to shaft it off, say the reports.

Consequently, even Arabic news channel Al Jazeera is currently free-to-air after being available on encryption for the past few months. Al Jazeera can be found on Sky EPG 819. Additionally, Al Jazeera will be launching its English version in the UK next year, say the reports.