"The streamlining of OSN’s business is being carried out successfully, with content cost rationalised and savings of US $120m against the contractual value in 2019," according to a statement issued on KIPCO's website.
KIPCO – the Kuwait Projects Company (Holding), OSN’s majority shareholder, announced at its annual Shafafiyah ‘Transparency’ Investor’ forum, that OSN has succeeded in achieving “an operational turnaround”.
A press statement from KIPCO said: “The pay-TV company is now able to deliver its products to 25 countries in the region through ‘OSN Streaming’, its OTT platform, thereby giving the company a larger reach. The streaming application includes Disney+ as of April 2020. Furthermore, OSN continues to have exclusive content rights to seven major Hollywood studios, and work is underway to produce original Arabic content.
“The streamlining of OSN’s business is being carried out successfully, with content cost rationalised and savings of US $120m against the contractual value in 2019. The pay-TV company also recorded a 28% reduction in general and administrative expenses and staff costs in 2019 compared to the year before. The management team was strengthened in the necessary areas of expertise.”
KIPCO noted that 2019 saw the beginning of several digital journeys in its core operating companies, which will continue in 2020.
The statement claims that OSN’s rebranded streaming application ‘OSN Streaming’ enjoys a 4.4 star rating on the Apple Store, ranking higher or equal to its competitors.
“Its IMDb rating is at 8.7 stars, putting it ahead of many of the other OTT platforms worldwide,” the report added.
In its initial 2020 observations of the media sector, KIPCO said its business had outperformed the outlined budget in the first five months of the year, “with increased customer consumption and lower churn”.
The closure of retail outlets because of the lock down, however, has impacted new sales numbers, it added.
