As the content market heats during Ramadan, the tech industry has also started buzzing with NAB and CABSAT just around the corner.
The talk of the town last month was OSN’s big bash at the newly opened Aura Skypool at St. Regis, Dubai to announce its extended partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and the all-important news that it will continue to be the home of HBO content in MENA.
After losing the Disney+ content a while ago, this was that one other vital partnership that OSN could not afford to get wrong, and CEO Joe Kawkabani has redeemed himself with this deal. The St. Regis shindig and the very impressive drone show a few miles away to mark the partnership was not just another announcement; it signified how critical that deal was to maintain the broadcaster’s position in the MENA market.
In March, ahead of Ramadan, we carried scores of announcements on several such new content partnerships, with some streamers going so far as to fine tune their pricing strategies to lure more viewers to their platforms. The MENA Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry has become coveted ground for both regional and international players, and the content market especially is abuzz with new productions, emerging talent and stories designed for global viewing.
While things heat up on the content side, there’s a lot of excitement on the tech side too with NAB just around the corner and CABSAT in May. This year’s shows are likely to be the first to truly fill up like the pre-Covid days, and I can’t wait to see some of the new technologies that are going to be featured at the shows.
I am also truly excited to announce that BroadcastPro ME, in association with CABSAT, will host the BroadcastPro Manufacturer Awards on the second day of the MENA show, to celebrate some pioneering technologies and the companies behind them. But just to spice things up a bit and ensure that industry folk have a say in the technologies that you work with, we have decided to carry out an audience voting process to choose the winners for each category.
So it’s not up to us anymore; it’s up to you. I am certain each of you will take that onus very seriously by voting for the best of the new technologies out there.
But that’s not until May. For now, we are heading to Vegas. Look us up if you’re there!
