I dont have the luxury of sitting back on my couch every evening and watching my favourite programmes on TV any more. Juggling a busy career and motherhood left little time for such luxuries until I discovered a couple of years ago that I could catch up on my favourite programmes while waiting to chauffeur […]
I dont have the luxury of sitting back on my couch every evening and watching my favourite programmes on TV any more. Juggling a busy career and motherhood left little time for such luxuries until I discovered a couple of years ago that I could catch up on my favourite programmes while waiting to chauffeur little feet back from a dance class or whiling away my time in a hotel room, jet lagged and unable to sleep. Today, the only programmes I watch are those that are available on my mobile device anytime, anywhere.
I bet its the same story with many of you, although our circumstances may be slightly altered. The demand for content anytime, anywhere has spurred the OTT revolution not just globally, but in a big way in the Arab world. With leading broadcasters having hopped on to the bandwagon, several young Arab entrepreneurs enjoying success with their OTT ventures, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia having the worlds highest rates of smartphone penetration, OTT is being taken to the next level here.
OTT, therefore, is the basic premise of our stories for the CABSAT show issue of BroadcastPro ME. You will see fewer traditional broadcast case studies in this issue, and more OTT deployments. This, by no means, reduces the significance of traditional integrations, but our primary aim has always been to inform and share experiences that are new to this region. With these stories, we have brought a fresh set of suppliers and solution providers into our traditional mix. You are likely to meet some new faces at CABSAT for the first time.
Speaking of new faces, it gives me great pleasure to introduce to our readers the man who dominates our cover this month. Meet Mohamed Abuagla, who serves as both CIO and CTO of Al Jazeera Media Network. For the first time in its history, Al Jazeera took a strategic decision to place its worldwide technology and operations teams under one person. Abuagla is the man! He gives us a fresh perspective on Al Jazeera’s recent projects and reveals some impressive numbers. More importantly, we begin to respect and appreciate why he holds such an important role in the media organisation.
BroadcastPro ME has always lived up to its promise to bring you the best stories in the region, and introduce you to new and dynamic faces that are pushing the envelope in the Arab world. We believe we have set new standards of excellence with this issue of BroadcastPro ME. See you at CABSAT!
