News

April 24, 2020

Snapchat has ramped up its MENA efforts as total time spent on Discover content grew by more than 80% year-on-year from Ramadan 2018 to 2019.

BeIN Sports to air exclusive behind-the-scenes episodes with Aboutrika and Gomaa

April 24, 2020

The two Egyptian legends will feature in the third episode of Behind the Scenes Part I on beIN Sports HD1.

Sharjah International Film Festival calls for applications for junior jurors

April 24, 2020

Children and youth aged between 12 and 20 years are eligible to apply for the jury.

Zee Alwan announces range of new shows for Ramadan

The TV channel will present Arabic, Indian and Turkish drama series and cooking shows.

Cinema Akil to launch virtual cinema club CineTalks from April 29

The platform has partnered with MUBI and Watch platform to draw films from their content bank every week which will be then discussed on a virtual meeting platform.

beIN announces Ramadan programming

Besides content from international partners, subscribers can expect to see regional drama series launch on the platform for this season.

Viu unveils star-studded Ramadan 2020 line-up

Starring some of the region’s most renowned TV icons, Viu hopes to bring unconventional and unique local stories with international-quality production through its six Original productions.

Abu Dhabi TV and Emarat TV unveil Ramadan shows

The list includes local and regional programming as well as a number of exclusive Emirati drama series.

Synamedia to advance open standards as new member of the Alliance for Open Media

As a member of the alliance, Synamedia will collaborate with AOMedia members, which presently include Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Watch iT announces Ramadan lineup

The raft of new releases from the Egyptian streaming service includes 13 premium drama series.

OSN claims 900% rise in viewing hours since March 1

April 22, 2020

Total TV consumption across OSN’s linear channels has increased by 35% with news channels specifically seeing a 250% increase in view time, according to OSN.

MAD Solutions joins forces with Egypt’s first online film festival

April 22, 2020

Under the deal, MAD Solutions will be responsible for RFF-Revart Film Festival's marketing and distribution.

Netflix releases 10 educational documentaries on YouTube for free

These documentaries are currently available in English and subtitles in more than a dozen languages will be available later this week.

Intigral ties with top production firms to air exclusive shows during Ramadan

The shows, which will be aired on Jawwy TV, will include “Aldeirah”, “Yamam”, “Hawas”, “Itijah Khate'e”, “Ejaza” and “Bent w Walad”.

ViacomCBS International Studios ties with Freemantle for short-form series

The short-form series titled ‘Balcony Stories’ will premiere on April 22 on Paramount Channel and Comedy Central across the Middle East.

MBRSC announces launch of new space TV series ‘Majarat’

Set to premiere on April 24 and hosted by employees of MBRSC, 'Majarat' will be in Arabic with English subtitles.

Twitter announces six shows in partnership with media partners

by Vijaya Cherian

Based on research that showed what Saudi and UAE tweeps want to see on Twitter, the streaming platform has collaborated with regional media partners for weekly shows.

Synamedia appoints Nick Thexton as Chief Technology Officer

April 20, 2020

Thexton will be in charge of the company’s video platform engineering, product management, architecture and marketing.

Fatafeat launches ‘Ramadan at home with Fatafeat’ special programmes

April 20, 2020

‘Ramadan at home with Fatafeat’ will air throughout Ramadan on Fatafeat (beIN channel 351) and YouTube.

MBC Group announces new content lineup for Ramadan

April 20, 2020

The programmes will be available on MBC’s free-to-air TV channels, and online via VOD and SVOD services, Shahid and Shahid VIP.

Sharjah International Film Festival launches online movie streaming platform

The selection includes feature-length films, short films as well as animation films, by filmmakers from the UAE, Kuwait, UK, USA, France, South Africa, Brazil and Iran.

Emirati director Nahla Al Fahad offers advice to stay-at-home filmmakers

The Emirati filmmaker called on content makers, films directors and producers to document their stay-at-home moments by using the resources and equipment available, including smartphones.

Nat Geo Abu Dhabi to air natural history programmes on Earth Day

The Earth Day programming event follows National Geographic Magazine’s first-ever flip issue with an expansive look at the status of the Earth.

Shure expands online training and webinars schedule to deliver programmes weekly

While the Shure Audio Institute (SAI) typically provides monthly training sessions, programming now will be delivered online weekly.

India’s Eros International to merge with STX Entertainment

The combined company is projected to release approximately 40 feature-length films, including seven sequels to prior hits and 100+ originals of episodic content, in 2020.

Harmonic offers free access to video streaming optimisation during lockdown

The company will enable up to 50% bandwidth reduction for 90 days through Harmonic EyeQ.

Motorsport and Ferrari launch new channel

The new channel will showcase Ferrari racing activities and will also feature live streams, full race replays, highlights, official model presentations and more.

Nat Geo Abu Dhabi airs ‘One World: Together At Home’ special show

'One World: Together At Home’ will show people who are affected by COVID-19 and will also celebrate and support brave healthcare workers doing life-saving work on the front lines.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi invites submissions for AFS Young Filmmakers workshop

April 18, 2020

The deadline for submissions is April 30.

Coronavirus: BeIN to air special show in support of healthcare workers

April 18, 2020

The programme ‘One World: Together At Home’ will be broadcast across MENA, Asia Pacific, France, Turkey and North America, featuring real experiences from doctors, nurses and families on April 18...

DMC, CBC, and ON to air Egyptian TV show ‘Regalet el-Bait’ during Ramadan

April 17, 2020

The actors in the series Ahmed Fahmy and Akram Hosni made the announcement on their social media pages.

Riot Games acquires Hypixel Studios

April 17, 2020

This acquisition will give Hypixel Studios access to Riot Games’ experience in developing and publishing player-focussed games.

OSN to launch pop-up channel Super Collection tomorrow

The channel will be available on OSN channel 8 and On Demand from April 17 until May 2.

NBCUniversal officially enters streaming wars with Peacock launch

This lines up with the schedule that the company announced in January, which pointed to a broader launch on July 15.

Cannes Film Festival delayed indefinitely as France extends lockdown

The film festival was initially due to take place from May 12-23.

Netflix worth more than Disney with $187.3bn market cap

Netflix’s stock, extending its three-day rally, closed up 3.2%, to $426.75 per share, while Disney’s stock finished down 2.5% amid a broader market decline on Wednesday.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi releases video as tribute to UAE

The video tribute has already been viewed more than 100,000 times in the first 24 hours since its release across social media channels in the UAE.

Weyyak collaborates with STC Bahrain, eyes more Middle East expansion

The move is part of Weyyak's ongoing expansion with TPay Mobile, its telecom aggregation partner and digital payment enabler.

Deezer launches podcasts in MENA region

From comedy to culture and sports to spirituality, Deezer ‘Shows’ adds local and international podcasts to the entertainment mix.

Netflix announces $1m aid fund for Brazilian workers

The initiative is part of a $100m worldwide fund Netflix announced on March 20 to help deal with the financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Play Network confirms working on Nollywood animation project

The company confirmed the project which is part of its post-COVID plans among other pending productions.

Dailymotion pushes aggressively with super-aggregator model in MENA region

by Vijaya Cherian

Dailymotion executives talk about the company's new business model and tapping into the MENA streaming market by partnering with premium media houses in the region.

BeIN’s cinema service to show films previously intended for theatrical release

To watch new unreleased international films for $10 each, users may visit beIN On Demand and choose the Cinema category.

Sharjah Film Platform extends deadline for submissions to May 10

The competition is open for international applications and successful applicants will be notified by email.

OSN and Intigral seal multi-year deal

This partnership expands on a previous deal between the two companies and sees the addition of a host of OSN-branded channels and specially curated content on Jawwy TV, offering its...

EXCLUSIVE – Shock Middle East to limit each commercial break to two ads on its radio stations

Radio veteran and ex-Shock MD Cameron Plant dies; Shock ME impacted by lockdown

by Vijaya Cherian

Shock ME staff, who worked closely with Plant during his tenure at the radio station, commented that "the radio industry has lost a very valuable person".

Coronavirus: Zee5 sees 178% rise in news consumption on platform

Zee5 also saw a spike in news consumption via connected devices and reported 166% growth in video views for the same period.

Promos of TV shows announced ahead of Ramadan

Synergy and DMC Channel in Egypt have announced a lineup of new TV shows in the past week.

Pixar’s ‘Soul’ release moved from June to November

"Raya and the Last Dragon", which was originally set for a November 25 release, is now scheduled to come out March 12, 2021.

StarzPlay announces long-term deal with Warner Bros.

The multi-year agreement with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution gives StarzPlay exclusive access to blockbuster content from Warner.

Arabic cartoon series ‘Mansour’ gets over 500m views on Youtube

“Mansour” is currently available on Shahid VIP and will continue to be available on its YouTube Channel.

Universal breaks theatrical window, offers ‘Trolls’ sequel to stream for $19.99