Shahid is MBC Group’s streaming service — rebranded to MBC Shahid in January 2026 — and it is the single deepest well of Arabic on-demand content you can legally tap in the United States. If Sling Arabic is the closest thing to an Arabic satellite dish, MBC Shahid is the closest thing to an Arabic Netflix, with one big bonus: live MBC channels are included for US subscribers.
What you actually get
Two things, really:
The on-demand library. MBC Shahid hosts the world’s largest Arabic on-demand catalog: Shahid Originals you can’t watch anywhere else, Egyptian, Gulf, and Levantine series, Arabic films, and a solid kids section. The Ramadan slates are the headline event — Ramadan 2026 brought over 800 hours of new content — and if your family’s TV year peaks during Ramadan, this library is the main reason to subscribe. One honest caveat: the international (US) catalog differs somewhat from what subscribers see in the MENA region, so a specific show your relatives are watching back home isn’t always guaranteed here.
Live MBC channels. US users get live feeds of the core MBC lineup — MBC 1, MBC 3, MBC Drama, MBC Masr, plus the news channels Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, among them. That covers primetime dramas, kids programming, Egyptian programming via MBC Masr, and rolling Arabic news. For many households that’s most of what the TV was tuned to anyway. We cover the live-MBC question in more depth in our guide to watching MBC in the USA.
Pricing
As of mid-2026, US pricing on the web looks like this:
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0 | Ad-supported, limited catalog |
| VIP | ≈$11.49/mo | The standard plan |
| VIP BigTime | $13.99/mo | The top tier |
| Annual | — | Saves roughly 25% vs. monthly |
Two practical warnings. First, pricing varies by platform — subscribing inside the iOS or Android app can cost more than subscribing on the web, so sign up at shahid.mbc.net in a browser, then log into the apps. Second, prices shift; confirm the exact current number at checkout. Shahid’s free-trial offers also change over time, so check what’s on the table when you sign up rather than counting on one.
At roughly $11.49/mo, VIP is the cheapest entry point among the major Arabic services we review — undercutting Sling’s Ala Keifak pack while offering something completely different (a deep library instead of a broad live lineup).
The sports warning (read this before you subscribe)
This is the most important honesty check in this review: Shahid’s sports offering is not available in the US. The VIP Sports tier and the Saudi Pro League streams you may have heard about are MENA-only. If you’re in the United States and want to watch the Saudi Pro League, it airs on FOX’s channels (FS1/FS2) — not on Shahid, at any price.
Do not subscribe to MBC Shahid in the US expecting football. For sports options that actually work here, see our beIN CONNECT review and our beIN vs. Fubo sports comparison.
Streams, profiles, and devices
VIP includes 2 simultaneous streams and up to 5 profiles, so everyone gets their own watchlist even if you can’t all stream at once. Apps cover iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Samsung and LG and Hisense smart TVs, plus Chromecast/AirPlay and the web.
The one glaring hole: there is no Roku app. If your TV runs Roku, you have two options — cast from a phone, or use the workaround below.
The Sling route: same Shahid, different bill
MBC Shahid is also sold through Sling as a $13.99/mo MBC Shahid tier: the Shahid on-demand library plus 6 live channels (Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, MBC, MBC 3, MBC Drama, MBC Masr). It costs a couple of dollars more than going direct, but it solves two real problems: it runs inside the Sling app — which works on Roku — and it puts Shahid on the same bill as a Sling Arabic package if you have one.
And if you’re considering Sling’s Al Ostoura pack anyway, note that it already includes the full Shahid library; in that case you don’t need a separate Shahid subscription at all.
How it compares
- vs. Sling Arabic: Sling is breadth (100+ live channels across Gulf, Egyptian, and Lebanese TV); Shahid is depth (the biggest on-demand library, plus live MBC). They overlap on MBC channels, and Al Ostoura swallows Shahid whole.
- vs. Prime Video: Prime’s Arabic catalog is a side benefit of a membership most people have anyway. Shahid’s library is in a different league for Arabic content — it’s the main course, not the garnish.
- vs. beIN CONNECT / Fubo: No overlap. Those are sports services; Shahid in the US has no sports at all.
Who should (and shouldn’t) get it
Get MBC Shahid if your viewing centers on MBC’s channels and series, you binge on demand rather than channel-surf, or Ramadan programming is the highlight of your TV year. At ≈$11.49/mo it’s also the easiest low-cost first step into legal Arabic streaming — and the free tier lets you sample before paying anything.
Skip it (alone) if you want channels beyond MBC’s universe — Rotana, the Egyptian terrestrials, Lebanese channels — in which case Sling Al Ostoura includes Shahid’s library and all of those. And skip it entirely if sports are the point; in the US, Shahid simply doesn’t have them.
Bottom line
MBC Shahid earns a 4.3: the best Arabic on-demand library in the world, live MBC channels included, at the lowest price among the majors. It loses points only for the US sports blackout, the missing Roku app, and being inherently limited to MBC’s own ecosystem. As a standalone subscription for an MBC-first household — or paired with a cheaper live package — it’s excellent.