News

French rental company GM decides to pursue music hobby during lockdown.

Twitter and Millenium Arabia team up for first Arabic esports show on platform

'Hala bil Gamers' premiers on June 18 via @Millenium_AR

Cartoon Network partners with YouTube stars to bring CN Tubers to MENA viewers

Famous YouTube stars to feature on Cartoon Network Arabic, bringing their fresh and fun takes on their favourite CN characters and shows

Shahid partners with e-voucher distribution platform Mintroute

Shahid VIP subscriptions can now be purchased through 250,000 points of sale across MENA

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid launches New Media Academy in Dubai

The launch of the academy coincides with the UAE’s post-Covid-19 strategies to build a generation of new media experts who lead the new digital economy.

Snap Inc. announces new content deals with global broadcasters

Kevin Hart, Catherine Hardwicke, Anthony Anderson and Bunim/Murray Productions are among those who will create original scripted and unscripted shows exclusively for Snapchat’s mobile-first audience.

New Man City documentary showcases team’s return to the field

The first episode looks at how the field and team are being prepped to return to the game, while the second one captures the new normal in training, and the...

beIN Sports to broadcast completion of third 2022 FIFA World Cup stadium

The Education City stadium in Qatar is set to host the FIFA World Cup 2022 matches up to the quarter-finals stage.

OSN to broadcast BAFTA TV-nominated movies and series

June 14, 2020

The BAFTA TV Awards will be held virtually on Friday, July 31 and the BAFTA TV Craft Awards are scheduled for Friday, July 17.

Annecy International Animation Film Festival begins tomorrow

June 14, 2020

The festival, which is being held online this year, will have a 20-film competition lineup and special programmes, designed for an online audience.

Films projects from Lebanon, Turkey and Tunisia receive Sørfond grants

June 14, 2020

Costa Brava, Lebanon, directed by Mounia Akl with producer Abbout Productions, received a larger grant of 550,000 NOK ($56,000).

Snap Inc. announces new camera and AR features

June 13, 2020

New announcements include an updated Lens Studio; new Local Lenses as well as new technical partnerships.

DMI’s digital platform Awaan to stream 40 UN documentaries

June 12, 2020

The documentaries cover areas of sustainable development, climate change, women, education and humanitarian aid.

Image Nation launches “Creatives at Home” short film competition

by Vijaya Cherian

June 12, 2020

Submissions will be accepted until June 27, 2020.

beIN snags MENA and APAC broadcast rights to Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour

June 12, 2020

beIN SPORTS will air the charity tournament across 24 countries in MENA and 11 countries in APAC, raising money for Covid-19 relief funds.

Absen bags 2020 Red Dot Award for Venus LED Series

Established in 1955, the Product Design award is presented to the best products created each year, as decided by a jury of 40 international experts on product innovation.

ZEE5 to remake NENT Studios UK’s ‘Black Widows’ in India

The Indian version will be the eighth international remake following versions in Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, the Middle East, Mexico, Scandinavia and the Czech Republic.

Netflix’s first Turkish Original slated for June 19 launch

One-Way to Tomorrow is the first branded Netflix original film from Turkey, starring Dilan Cicek Deniz and Metin Akdulger.

CABSAT to host webinar today on production challenges

The panel will discuss how broadcast media organisations have been forced to adapt to lockdown measures, which brought production to a grinding halt – and how they intend to recover...

Abu Dhabi to host UFC series of events from July 11-25

June 10, 2020

In MENA and the UAE, UFC Fight Island events may be viewed through UFC Arabia’s Arabic-language subscription service or Abu Dhabi Sports channels

LaLiga returns live and exclusively on beIN Sports

June 10, 2020

All LaLiga matches will be broadcast live with special guests, dedicated studios, and multi-lingual coverage.

Ladima Short Film Competition announces jury for 2020 edition

With entries already being submitted, the Ladima Foundation jury will select the final 10 films for the competition.

Romantic and wellbeing audio content tops the list for listeners: Deezer

Deezer study reveals that 63% of people in the UAE have turned to wellbeing audio content following 78% of people in Saudi Arabia and 76.6% in Egypt

Cinema Akil to reopen doors on June 12

The independent cinema house will open with Michael Winterbottom’s 'A Trip to Greece'.

Eurosport appoints Disney’s Amar Melwani to digital team

Melwani is based in London. He will report to Paul Rehrig, General Manager of Eurosport Digital.

Pay-TV operators to gain subs: Digital TV Research

The top 50 operators accounted for 46% of the world’s pay-TV subscribers by the end of 2019.

UAE to host first virtual comic con in July

by Staff Writer

The event will feature a live cosplay competition and an online masterclass.

Omantel launches new SVOD service

The new service, which is available in five languages, offers an array of both international and regional content.

OSN announces seven new shows for June

by Shifa Naseer

The shows are slated for OSN channels OSN Living and OSN Mezze, as well as OSN streaming service.

Turner Classic Movies unveils new line-up of modern classics

The new lineup includes ‘Thelma and Louise’, ‘City Slickers’, ’Babel’ and ‘Capote’.

Synamedia and AWS join forces to accelerate end-to-end cloud TV deployments

Operators Astro and Etisalat Group subsidiary E-Vision already run Synamedia’s Infinite TV platform on AWS.

Sky and EA Sports offer artificial crowd noise option as Premier League resumes

The Premier League season will provisionally restart on June 17 and Sky viewers in the UK will have the option to watch matches with simulated crowd noises developed in partnership with EA...

StarTimes Nigeria partners with MTN on movies, sports content

StarTimes will offer more than 100 channels and video-on-demand (VOD) content to MTN subscribers.

Palm Springs ShortFest 2020 collection includes eight Arab films

From June 16-22, a number of the official selection films will be available to screen for free online.

FC Barcelona launches new streaming service Barca TV+

The new service will be available worldwide via the club website and app, for all devices in Catalan, Spanish and English.

BBC appoints Tim Davie as Director General

June 7, 2020

Davie is presently the chief executive of BBC Studios and will take charge as Director General from September 1.

Moroccan actor Youssef Kerkour receives BAFTA nomination for ‘Home’

June 5, 2020

The winners of the 2020 BAFTAs will be revealed on July 17.

Roxy Cinemas re-opens at three of its prime locations in Dubai

June 5, 2020

The viewers will be made to walk through thermal reader, sanitation tunnel and footbath before entering all assets.

Cannes film fest selects Egyptian director Ayten Amin’s ‘Souad’ for 2020 edition

by Shifa Naseer

The film is co-written by director Ayten Amin and Mahmoud Ezzat in their second collaboration after 'Villa 69' (2013).

Abu Dhabi Motorsport announces global esports racing championship with Gfinity

There will be two seasons in each calendar year, with the first season taking place in 2020.

WWE names Bandar Al Mashhadi VP and GM for MENA

Al Mashhadi will lead WWE’s strategic business initiatives and day-to-day operations in the MENA region.

Sheikh Mohammed launches YouTube series based on memoir

'My Story’ is based on HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai and Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE ‘s memoir ‘My Story: 50 Memories from 50...

Cairo International Film Festival opens for submissions

The last date for submission is August 31.

Synamedia defines fans by attitudes to sports piracy in research report

89% of sports fans subscribe to a pay-TV or OTT service, yet 51% watch pirate sports services at least once a month.

Twofour54 partners with UAE Pro League for e-sports tournament

Following the successful run of the “Ramadan Derby 2020” gaming tournament for FIFA gamers across the UAE, the two partners are now extending the partnership to more games.

Dubai International Content Market opens registration for 2020 edition

The event is scheduled to take place on December 7-8 at Jumeirah Beach Hotel Conference Centre.

BeIN SPORTS to exclusively broadcast NTT Indycar Series 2020 and 2021 in MENA

The first race broadcast is set to take place live on June 7 with Arabic and English commentary.

Abu Dhabi book fair hosts Saudi filmmaker Shahad Ameen in virtual session

by Staff Writer

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi hosted the Saudi Arabian writer and director to discuss Ameen’s award-winning film ‘Scales'.

Covid-19 doesn’t dampen radio listening in the UAE: Nielsen

People aged between 25 and 54 spend nearly eight hours listening each week, according to the report.

ConnecTechAsia announces virtual showcase and 365 marketplace for 2020 edition

The three-day live event originally set to happen from 29 September to 1 October 2020 will now be fully virtual.

Kurdistan’s Rudaw TV deploys Viz Opus to automate workflow

Viz Opus has enabled the Erbil-based broadcaster to manage its broadcast operations with minimal human intervention at its facility.

ByteDance appoints new GM for global business solutions in MENAT