NEWS

Nice People At Work (NPAW) has renewed its partnership with Intigral to improve user insight. By adding new NPAW users’ products to the existing YOUBORA suite, Jawwy TV – Intigral’s premium media and entertainment product – will be able to better understand subscriber behaviour, to optimise the platform.

The wide set of metrics provided by users enables different teams to correlate consumption patterns from within and beyond the video player, to make informed decisions on engagement strategies, content acquisition and platform performance optimisation.

As the OTT TV market continues to rapidly grow in the Middle East, Jawwy TV aims to offer a better viewing experience for subscribers, adjusting to their preferences based on advanced analytics and churn prediction metrics. NPAW advanced analytics for VoD and live streaming services, paired with Intigral’s ambitious business strategy based on its vMVDP model, will enable Jawwy TV to reach more audiences in the MENA region.

Commenting on the partnership renewal, Intigral Commercial Vice President John-Paul McKerlie said: “We are excited to continue our collaboration with NPAW as we set new standards for deriving insights that will enhance customers’ experience, support our ambitions to acquire and importantly engage customers as we expand across MENA.”

Mehdi Kadhi, Sales Director, Middle East & Africa at NPAW, added: “The MENA region continues to be one of our key markets, and we are delighted to further strengthen our partnership with the Intigral Group.”

JP McKerlie, Commercial Vice President, Intigral.

KSA Sports – Saudi Arabia’s TV sports network – has acquired the rights to broadcast the debut season of Extreme E. It will broadcast live all five of the brand-new FIAendorsed rallies as they take place over the course of the year at different locations across the world.

MBC Action will also televise all five of the series’ X Prix across its territories in MENA. The first of those is Saudi Arabia’s own AlUla race, Extreme E’s firstever X Prix, taking place April 3-4. The new electric vehicle competition will pit ten teams and 20 drivers against each other over two days on the dunes of AlUla.

Following the inaugural race in Saudi Arabia, the series will visit Senegal (29-30 May), Greenland (28-29 August), Brazil (23-24 October) and Patagonia (1112 December). By holding races in areas suffering from the environmental crisis, such as tropical rainforests and the Arctic, the aim is to raise viewers’ awareness and interest in environmental issues. Extreme E’s mission to ‘race without a trace’ and minimise local impact means events will not be open to spectators, with fans instead invited to follow the action through the live TV broadcast and on social media.

Speaking about the partnership with KSA Sports, Ali Russell, Chief Marketing Officer at Extreme E, said: “As we prepare to go racing for the first time, in the stunning setting of AlUla, there is no better channel for us to reach our Saudi Arabian fans.”

He added that he was delighted to announce the broadcast agreement with MBC Group, expressing that as home to the most widely watched MENA TV networks, MBC Group provides the tremendous opportunity to bring Extreme E’s innovative technology and its crucial conservation and equality message to a vast audience of almost 300 million Arab speakers.

Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), who is co-organising next month’s debut race in Saudi Arabia, added: “It is to our immense delight that they have chosen to continue to back our events with the agreement to broadcast next month’s AlUla Extreme E X Prix and the season thereafter, which itself marks a new dawn for motorsports on a global scale.”

Middle East news network ABS Network (ABSN) has selected LiveU’s live video solutions for live newsgathering across the Middle East and from its Washington, DC news bureau. ABSN chose LiveU’s technology to enhance its news reporting capabilities with cost-effective, reliable 4K/full-HD live streaming solutions, enabling its teams to move around much more freely. LiveU units have already been used to cover the US election, the inauguration of President Joe Biden and events in the Middle East, as well as in its live studio.

ABSN CEO Mohammad Elajlouni said: “In an age where viewers demand the highest level of production quality, we ensure that the equipment we own and operate comprises the latest, most sophisticated state-of-the-art gear. LiveU was the clear choice for us when evaluating a live streaming solution, with its proven reliability, best video quality and service guarantee. LiveU units are working both as a stand-alone solution and as part of our existing HD/4K systems, and the compatibility with our existing hardware is perfect. As a 24/7 service provider, it’s essential for us to work with a partner that provides round-the-clock service, and LiveU’s global support and operations teams are delivering every time.”

Bruno Schmetz, Territory Manager – Middle East and Africa, LiveU, added: “It’s great to see how ABSN is using our live streaming equipment to deliver innovative news coverage to millions of its viewers around the world. The Gulf region is growing in important for us, with huge potential, and we’re proud that the leading news network has chosen LiveU for our technological advantages and service guarantee.”

The ABS team on the field with LiveU.

The first edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival will take place November 11-20, 2021 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The festival will be delivered by a team of Saudi and international curators, film specialists and industry veterans, including MD Shivani Pandya and Director of Arab Programmes & Film Classics Antoine Khalife. Film critic Kaleem Aftab joins as Director of International Programming, bringing distinctive global cinema to Saudi across In Competition, Out-of-Competition and thematic categories.

Jumana Zahid leads the Red Sea Lodge, the foundation’s incubator for Saudi and Arab filmmakers, now in its second edition. The Red Sea Souk, the festival’s industry platform for distributors, sales agents and producers, is helmed by Zain Zedan, Industry/Souk Manager.

The festival organisers have also announced the 12 Arab projects selected for development at the Red Sea Lodge 2021, an eightmonth programme that will mentor Saudi and Arab directors, producers and writers to develop inventive feature films. Six are from Saudi Arabia, alongside projects from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Lebanon. Half of them are helmed by female directors, with three women in producer roles.

The emerging storytellers will convene four times digitally and finally in person in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, at the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival, where the 12 filmmaking teams will pitch to international production companies. An independent jury will award two production grants of $100,000. The two winning films will have the opportunity to have a world premiere at the 2022 Red Sea International Film Festival.

ATEM Mini Pro ISO model shown.

ATEM Mini is a whole television studio, miniaturized down into an easy to use solution for creating live multi camera television shows. Simply connect up to 4 HDMI cameras, computers and even microphones. Then push the buttons on the panel to switch video sources just like a professional broadcaster! You can even add titles, picture in picture overlays and mix audio! Then live stream to Zoom, Skype or YouTube!

Create Training and Educational Videos

ATEM Mini includes everything you need. All the buttons are positioned on the front panel so it’s very easy to learn. ATEM Software Control is also included for accessing more advanced features! The 4 HDMI inputs allow connecting cameras and computers, plus the USB output works like a webcam for Zoom or Skype. The multiview even allows all cameras to be viewed on a single monitor!

Use Professional Video Effects

ATEM Mini is really a professional broadcast switcher used by television stations. This means it has professional effects such as a DVE for picture in picture effects, commonly used for commentating over a computer slide show. There are titles for presenter names, wipe effects for transitioning between sources and a green screen keyer for replacing backgrounds with graphics! Live Stream Training and Conferences

The ATEM Mini Pro model has a built in hardware streaming engine for live streaming via its ethernet connection. This means you can live stream to YouTube, Facebook and Twitch in much better quality and with perfectly smooth motion. You can even connect a hard disk or flash storage to the USB connection and record your stream for upload later!

Edit and Fix Live Streams

With the new ATEM Mini Pro ISO model, you can now edit your live show to fix any mistakes or make improvements. You get all video inputs and program recorded as 5 separate video files! Plus a DaVinci Resolve edit timeline is saved, so you can open the live show and make changes with a single click! It only takes a few minutes to edit and upload a perfect version of your show!

Twofour54 and Abu Dhabi production company Genomedia Studios, an existing partner, have reached an agreement that will see Genomedia Studios take over management and ownership of twofour54’s post-production facility.

The agreement will transfer the full facility and its assets to Genomedia Studios, including an extensive bank of professional hardware, equipment and industryleading software such as Dolby Vision and Atmos. In addition, following a transitional period, Genomedia Studios will take over all existing contracts, including the lease of the editing suites and screening room, and ongoing client projects.

Twofour54’s postproduction facility is fully equipped with hardware and software that allows video, audio, animation and broadcast creation and editing to the highest levels of feature film production, while also being accessible to independent and smaller projects. The facility will continue to be based in twofour54 and will be relocating to a purpose-built development in Yas Creative Hub when it opens in Q4 2021.

Michael Garin, CEO of twofour54, said: “Genomedia Studios’ industry experience and vision to nurture local talent makes the company a natural partner, and we will continue to work together to build the local and international client base for this strategically important facility.”

The post-production facility at twofour54 Abu Dhabi.

Image Nation Abu Dhabi has partnered with the Embassy of the United States in the UAE and Film Independent to offer AFS Episodic Storytelling – an in-depth programme for scriptwriters. The submission is open to all UAE nationals and residents, and the last date to submit applications is April 17.

Over the course of six months, experts from American industry leader Film Independent will provide participants with a practical understanding of several distinctive elements of American television and the tools to help them develop authentic content that includes the state of the TV industry, the writers’ room, creating a Bible or series document, a compelling pilot and the art of the pitch.

The course, which is split into three parts and will commence on May 24, consists of online training – except for the last workshop in November, which might take place at the Image Nation offices in Abu Dhabi if the global situation allows.

OSN has partnered with TVbeat Inc to use its TV SaaS Framework services, in a step that will strengthen OSN’s position as a datadriven network and enable it to better address shifting viewership behaviour and trends in the MENA region.

In partnering with OSN, TVbeat will streamline set-top box viewership and demographic datasets, and activate harmonised TV data available through its comprehensive TV Audience Measurement interfaces. The set of services include custom Reporting, Ranker, Research and Audience Manager modules to provide granular insights into linear and non-linear TV viewership behaviour across any type of audience segment.

In recent years, OSN’s content strategy has seen an increasing focus on using as many insights as possible from consumption data and deploying these insights towards content development, to cater to audiences’ ever-changing needs and aspirations. This is considered a natural step that is expected to take the network even closer to its consumers and help bring them stories that answer their needs and speak their language.

Powered by its SaaS Framework, TVbeat enables OSN to set advanced permission and data filtering controls to share harmonised TV data to both internal and external users, ensuring 0% data leakage and 100% data integrity.

DJI launched an entirely new type of DJI FPV drone last month at an event at Safa Park, Dubai, in partnership with local distributor Advanced Media Trading LLC. The event, which brought together more than 50 people, was attended by Nasser Khalifa Al Budoor, Director of Dubai Media District; Dubai Civil Aviation Authority; Dubai Municipality; Dubai Police and Sharjah Police; and top aerial production companies like Shadow, Airscope, Nomad Production and Chopper Shoot.

Ahed Mahmoud, an Advanced Media DJIcertified Technical Support and Solution Engineer, said: “It was great to have another DJI product launch and see this amazing group of DJI enthusiasts. The new DJI FPV drone is truly amazing. We were surprised by the number of orders on the first day.”

Attendees at the launch of the DJI FPV drone in Dubai.

Thema, a subsidiary of Canal+ International, has renewed its longtime partnership with Rotana Group. The agreement grants Thema the rights to distribute the entire portfolio of Rotana’s channels in Europe, as well as unlimited access to Rotana’s content library. The deal also includes a close marketing collaboration between both groups, with a greater focus on digital activities such as influencer campaigns.

Broadcast. Delivered.

GloCom Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai UAE | +971 43 792367 | info@glocomltd.com | www.glocomltd.com

The new OB van features several For-A solutions.

Abu Dhabi firm Cubic Media Production has anchored its newest production vehicle with a For-A HVS490 digital video switcher. The truck has been booked for a variety of high-profile projects, from multi-camera production of professional football matches to coverage of the historic UAE Mars probe for Abu Dhabi TV.

Built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van chassis, the UNIT2 4K truck is a compact mobile unit that typically supports eight-camera HD or six-camera 4K productions.

Feras Hamdan, Managing Partner and Director of Operations for Cubic Media Production, said the HVS-490 was perfect for the new truck, because it included features usually found in larger switchers.

Beyond the HVS-490, UNIT2 4K also includes two FA-505 and three FA-9600 multi-channel signal processors, mainly used to convert external sources to 4K during productions. However, the processors can also be used to synchronise inputs, embed and de-embed audio, provide colour correction and downconvert footage from 4K to HD or HD to SD.

Taking a new international step in his career, Egyptian film editor Ahmed Hafez recently edited the first episode of the American TV series Cypher, titled The Code. The series is slated to premiere on Netflix MENA on Thursday, April 1 and is currently airing on Roku for audiences in the US and Canada.

Cypher is a new international project for Hafez after working on the thriller Paranormal, which topped the 'Most Watched' list on Netflix.

Cypher is an eightepisode action series that premiered on Netflix South Africa in 2020. It is an Egyptian-American co-production between AROMA Studios and United Brothers in Egypt, along with international production companies including AZ Film Studios, Organic Media Group and Thriller Films.

Helmed by Tunisian director Majdi Smiri, Cypher stars Australian actor Martin Dingle-Wall opposite American actress Jaclyn Hales, along with a large number of American stars. It follows Will Scott, a highcalibre FBI code-breaker who deciphers a covert hit list and soon becomes a target himself as he tries to prevent the shadowy killings.

Ahmed Hafez has had an impressive career, with editing credits on more than 30 films and TV series. His most recent projects include Paranormal, Netflix's first original Egyptian production, and Every Week Has a Friday, which premiered on Shahid.net to great success in 2020.

Ahmed Hafez. Zeinab Abu Alsamh, GM of MBC Studios KSA.

MBC Group has announced the appointment of Zeinab Abu Alsamh as GM of MBC Studios KSA, the in-house premium content production arm of MBC Group. In her new role, Abu Alsamh will oversee all local production and development projects, with a particular focus on the development and expansion of the content production industry in the Kingdom. She will also be the official MBC Studios representative for government initiatives and local media engagements.

Abu Alsamh will report directly to MBC Studios Managing Director Peter Smith, who is part of the executive team that reports to MBC Group CEO Sam Barnett. Prior to joining MBC Group, she was Chief Commercial Officer at Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA).

Lebanese firm JGroup has announced the fiveyear renewal of its media representation contract for Iraqi satellite TV, Alsumaria and its subsidiaries Sumer FM and Alsumaria.tv. The partnership will explore new avenues of revenue for advertisers, as well as introduce innovative services and initiatives targeting the right audience at the right time and place.

Imad Jomaa, founder and President of JGroup, said: “We are happy to have renewed our contract with Alsumaria TV, Sumer FM and Alsumaria.tv, through which we continue to serve an array of advertisers in the region. Alsumaria TV is a leading network in Iraq. The network’s popularity and viewership strengthen its position and help retain its standing as an important advertising platform for existing advertisers, as well as the ones who want to enter the Iraqi advertising and media industry. We have always been trusted advisors for our customers, and Alsumaria TV, Sumer FM and Alsumaria.tv enable us to unlock new possibilities for them.”

Chafic Tabet, Chairman of Alsumaria Media Group, added: “We are pleased to have JGroup as a part of our journey. Over the past few years, we have been innovating with our programmes and news broadcast to meet the expectations of our audience and reach new prospects. To have renewed the partnership with JGroup strengthens our business roadmap and helps us advance to achieving new business milestones.”

Imad Jomaa is founder and president of JGroup.

As part of its 2021 plans, Arabic cooking channel Fatafeat, which has a production facility in Dubai Production City, has scheduled more than 270 hours of linear content for production this year. In addition to linear content, the purpose-built Fatafeat studio will output hundreds of hours of social and digital content, expected to exceed the 1,000+ hours of content produced in 2020.

Layla Tamim, Commercial Manager at Discovery, Fatafeat’s parent company, remarked: “Last year, despite the challenges which resulted from the global pandemic, the Fatafeat studio was able to surpass expectation by exceeding forecasted hours of content. Following a brief mandatory closure of facilities, in line with governmental safety precautions, we were able to adapt business practices to allow production teams and talent to re-enter the studio and continue creating the shows and content that the region loves. From a personnel perspective, it meant that we were able to retain production staff and continue supporting the broadcast industry as a whole.”

By swiftly adapting to Covid-19 safety regulations, the ongoing production capabilities aided in maintaining job security for many individuals faced with a level of uncertainty as a result of the pandemic, while also supporting local and regional talent including chefs Mohammad Orfali, Manal Alalem and Afnan Aljaadi.

Tamim concluded: “Our plans for 2021 are not only to increase the hours of output from the studio, but to also capitalise on the opportunity to develop creative content solutions that not only add value to our burgeoning fan base, but also showcase real value to our partners.”

The Fatafeat studio in Dubai Production City.

VYND.IO, a video entertainment industry data intelligence platform, has announced the release of the first intelligence report on Arabic Original programming for OTT platforms in MENA. The report highlights the exponential growth, up 383% from 2019 to 2020.

Before 2019, Arabic Originals on OTT platforms were few and far between, and predominantly released by internationally backed platforms. In 2020, however, there was a significant acceleration from 12 to 46 Arabic Originals, primarily driven by regional OTT services.

The report highlights how local services such as Shahid (39% of 2020 Arabic Original output), Jawwy (22%) and OSN (9%) have led this massive expansion of content. International services Viu (17%) and Netflix (4%) have likewise continued to increase their releases. In the coming years this growth is expected to continue, adding to the overall strong development and feeding competition for projects of interest in the region.

As more global players enter the region in search of growth, and with more services competing for original content, budgets will inevitably rise and production resources will be stretched, resulting in an ever-increasing pressure on making the right decisions in production and content. The balance will shift towards the companies that most effectively combine the raw power of data with creativity.

However, data to support the content industry is scattered, disconnected, siloed or simply not captured. Given these blind spots, content acquisition and marketing decisions are potentially being made inefficiently, resulting in billions of dollars of wasted expenditure and lost revenue opportunities each year.

VYND.IO has provided a first sample of how data can provide deep insights into the industry.

4

MENA music streaming platform Anghami Inc and Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc (Nasdaq: VMAC), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company led by CEO F. Jacob Cherian and cofounders Saurabh Gupta and Abhayanand Singh, have entered into a definitive merger agreement that will result in Anghami becoming the first Arab technology company to list on Nasdaq. The transaction implies a pro-forma enterprise value of $220m. The combined company will operate under the Anghami name and trade under the new symbol ANGH. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021.

Anghami offers over 57m songs to more than 70m registered users with around 1bn streams per month. With an Arabicspeaking population of over 450m globally, a listing on Nasdaq allows Anghami to scale its user base and invest in technology to build on its data play.

Anghami’s AI and machine learning algorithms process over 56m data points from its user base every day. Over nine years of user data enables the company to predict user behaviour and trends to focus its investments in areas delivering the highest return on investment – which helps improve monetisation – and will continue to be a key driver of revenues going forward.

Anghami has longstanding partnerships with all major global labels, including Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group. It has licensing agreements with thousands of independent labels and distributors to provide users with legal access to a vast catalogue of music. The company also has direct partnerships with 36 telecommunication companies across the MENA region, to boost free user acquisitions and facilitate subscriptions achieving the highest paying conversion rate in emerging markets.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with offices in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh, Anghami is currently backed by MENA venture capital firms and strategic shareholders, including media groups and telecommunications companies that collectively own approximately 68% of the company, with the balance owned by the founders.

Anghami’s management team, led by co-founder and CEO Eddy Maroun, will continue to operate and manage Anghami following the transaction. Co-founder and Chairman Elie Habib will continue as CTO. F. Jacob Cherian, CEO of Vistas Media Acquisition Company Inc, is expected to join the company as co-CEO for a period of one year.

Anghami founders Elie Habib (l) and Eddy Maroun (r).

Instagram launched its shortform video-sharing feature, Reels, in the Middle East last month. This feature offers a new way for the platform’s community of creators, users and businesses in MENA to create and discover short, entertaining videos. This follows the introduction of Music on Instagram Stories earlier this month.

THEMA, a Canal+ Group company, in collaboration with UAE content licensing management company SAWA Rights Management (SRM), has announced the launch of M6 International channel on du’s TV platform in the UAE. It is being offered in du’s add-on French Package.

Laurent de Lorme, M6 Group Programme Director & Programme Marketing Director, said: “M6 International gathers the best of M6 TV channel programming as well as successful flagship programmes from M6 Group channels (W9, 6ter, Paris Première and Téva). M6 International now allows francophone and French expatriate access to a diversified selection of high-quality content.”

Following a spike in subscriptions with Covid-19, Zee Weyyak has invested in more original productions to ensure its platform is continuously refreshed with new content. As part of this, the platform has invested in three original in-house productions to feature exclusively on the platform this Ramadan – Layla Andi Bel Beit, Safi Albak and Al Damma.

Layla Andi Beil Beit is a culinary show showcasing different flavours of the Arab region, featuring celebrities and local people who bring various Arabic cuisines to the UAE, and will run for the whole month of Ramadan. Safi Albak is a talk show hosted by the famous Safaa Sultan, who will have an honest heart-to-heart discussion with two guests and potentially sing with a live band. With Al Damma, the host Majed Ajlany will be visiting an orphanage from where he will take one child to spend an entire day with a well-known celebrity and experience their lifestyle. At the end of the day, the celebrity will give the child a gift as a memory that can stay with them forever. Each episode will feature a different child and a different celebrity.

Although Weyyak has a big Arab following in the MENA region, Chief Business Officer Nadine Samra explains that the team has also seen a huge uptake for its shows in Europe.

“Throughout our launch, our main audience has been locals and Arab expats who love watching a variety of content. We have a lot of Arab audiences across the GCC and MENA. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt remain the biggest markets for us. We also saw a huge MAU [monthly active users] jump on AVOD in the MENA region. We doubled our MAU during Covid-19. However, we also saw a jump in subscriptions from Europe during the lockdown period, with significant engagement from France and Germany.”

Encouraged by this, Weyyak has explored more investment opportunities in the European market, she says. “Although Ramadan remains the month where the most budget is invested, as the competition for eyeballs is at peak and we want to push our content, Europe is looking attractive. So we have a solid customer retention plan in place to ensure we serve our audience well.”

Part of that effort is the platform’s investment in in-house productions, as well as “acquiring and repurposing content to keep our bouquet of content offering very appealing to all tastes”.

“We have worked with many production houses this year and are looking forward to a great outcome.

“This Ramadan, our new strategy revolves around new original exclusive productions. We also have a variety of entertaining exclusive Arab and Indian content shows such as Al Kandoush, continuation of Oheboka W Aktar (season 2), Noqta Al Sater (season 3), Begusarai (season 3), Bebaakee (new season) and a remake of Quboul 2.0,” Samra remarked.

“Apart from our first in-house local production, Chicago Street, we have also introduced new social content formats. We went with live streaming on multiple social platforms with big celebrities, to get our fans to enjoy a special edition of dynamic content.”

Being part of the larger Zee network has been a big advantage.

“Leveraging on our Zee power when it comes to exclusive Indian content was fundamental to building a huge content library. Now, adding to that our continuous investment in Arabic content acquisition and more recently our focus on creating our own original productions, has been really great,” Samra concluded.

Nadine Samra.