StarzPlay will help the PTCL Group deploy its new OTT platform to host movies from leading Hollywood studios in addition to Pakistani films and dramas.
Pakistani telecom Group, PTCL, and Ufone 4G, both subsidiaries of e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group), have signed an agreement with Evision to launch its own video streaming platform in Pakistan.
The new Digital Video Over-The-Top (OTT) platform will host a collection of Hollywood and Pakistani entertainment content besides an assortment of national and international news and sports channels, thereby catering to the diverse news and entertainment needs of everyone in the family.
Group Chief Commercial Officer, PTCL & Ufone, Adnan Anjum and Chief Executive Officer, Evision, Olivier Bramly inked the agreement during Gitex Global 2022 in Dubai, where senior executives including President and Group CEO, PTCL & Ufone, Hatem Bamatraf and Chief Executive Officer, e& life, Khalifa AlShamsi were also present.
The Evision-led consortium has majority shares in the video streaming platform in MENA, StarzPlay that will technically help the PTCL Group with deploying the new Digital Video OTT Platform to host movies and seasons from leading Hollywood studios in addition to Pakistani films and dramas to cater to a wide range of viewership in the country. The new Digital Video OTT platform will also offer access to over one hundred news and sports channels and a lot of educational and fun content for children.
Commenting on the agreement, Hatem Bamatraf said: “I am grateful to Evision for their support in this initiative that furthers our efforts to diversify our services and positively impact more aspects of our customer’s lives. Technology is the most effective enabler of our age, and we continuously strive to harness its potential for our customers’ benefit. We find news and entertainment a huge part of our people’s lives and it offers us a good opportunity to reinvent television and online streaming experience to bring them more control and choice in their viewing.”
Khalifa AlShamsi added: “Evision is the leading media and entertainment content aggregator in the MENA region. We are glad to work with the PTCL Group to extend our services to the people of Pakistan to help them enjoy high-quality content with greater ease and access. Pakistan is a huge market that needs a homegrown video streaming platform that can better understand the people’s choices and preferences and caters to them accordingly.”
The new video streaming platform is expected to be launched soon. It will be accessible to all data subscribers in addition to PTCL & Ufone users at affordable prices.