Sid Roth Buys Middle East TV Network From LeSea With Soul-Winning in Mind
Today, Sid Roth’s Messianic Vision Inc. announces the acquisition of Middle East Television (METV) from LeSEA Broadcasting Corporation. METV has a long, storied history. Originally Hope TV, owned by George Otis in Southern Lebanon, the channel was donated to the Christian Broadcasting Network under the ownership of Pat Robertson on April 10, 1982.
On June 5, 1997, METV launched on the Israeli satellite Amos 2, which increased its reach from 11 million to 70 million households with a signal reaching the entire Middle East. In May of 2000, METV completed construction of its current station in Limassol, Cyprus, relocating from Lebanon just days before Hezbollah moved in, and Israeli forces moved out.
Shortly after, in July 2001, METV was sold to LeSEA Broadcasting Corporation, which has faithfully broadcast the gospel to the Middle East for the past 15 years. In 2008, LeSEA Broadcasting Corporation signed an agreement to move METV to the Amos 3 satellite, increasing the potential audience to 150 million viewers in Israel and across the Middle East. Today, Messianic Vision receives the mantle from LeSEA Broadcasting Corporation to continue broadcasting the Good News in the Middle East.
“We are so proud of what we have accomplished with METV over the past 15 years, but the time has come for METV to be taken to the next level. We are certain Messianic Vision is the ministry to do just that” said Drew Sumrall, president of LeSEA Broadcasting Corporation. “While we feel fulfilled by our time as stewards of METV, it became clear that it was time to take this opportunity and allow the Messianic Vision ministry to breathe new life into the channel.”
“I know this is the set time to have mercy on Israel. METV IS the platform! A great Jewish harvest is upon us, and the Jewish harvest will be the catalyst for the greatest Gentile harvest in history,” Roth said.
Along with its satellite coverage, METV boasts distribution in every home in Israel as it remains one of the premier channels in the region. With a mix of religious and family programming, including a long-standing relationship with the National Football League, Messianic Vision will build on an already solid platform.
Roth, a Jewish believer in Jesus as the Messiah, started Messianic Vision as a radio ministry in 1977 to reach out with the Gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Sid is the host of It’s Supernatural! television program, which airs internationally and features guests who have had miraculous healings and supernatural encounters with God’s power.
