STARZPLAY has been appointed to handle the global rights of advertising sales
for Abu Dhabi Media’s entire portfolio
Abu Dhabi, UAE; June 23, 2022: Abu Dhabi Media, the UAE’s leading public service broadcaster and media company today announced the appointment of STARZPLAY, MENA region’s fastest growing subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, to exclusively handle the advertising sales and commercial services for its media brands’ portfolio.
As part of the long-term deal, STARZPLAY, supported by its shareholder E-Vision, will manage Abu Dhabi Media’s commercial and advertising deals for the entire portfolio across the general entertainment fields, including TV channels, radio, digital and publishing, across the MENA region and beyond. The partnership supports complete flexibility and transparency to Abu Dhabi Media in advertising sales.
Abdulraheem Alnuaimi, General Manager of Abu Dhabi Media, expressed his excitement on this new deal and said: “Signing this partnership with STARZPLAY Arabia will contribute significantly in enhancing Abu Dhabi Media’s commercial proposition. It will support our mission to further extend our reach to new commercial partners in line with our strategic priorities, while also being able to create new opportunities with our existing advertisers.”
“This agreement also signifies an important step as we look forward to enhancing our reach across the MENA region and beyond. It will impact our leadership position in the presentation and production of innovative content, direct interaction, and digital communication with the audience. We are confident that our continued commitment to providing compelling and engaging content across our platforms will present brands and advertisers with ideal opportunities to reach audiences across the region,” he added.
Commenting on the appointment Danny Bates, Chief Commercial Officer, and Co-founder of STARZPLAY, said: “We have established a long-standing relationship with Abu Dhabi Media and this latest deal takes our partnership further. It is a testament to the trust and confidence that Abu Dhabi Media has in us, and we are confident of our success in this new endeavour. The deal further strengthens our market leadership, and we look forward to offering cutting edge solutions to our partners in conjunction with our shareholder eVision. The market is continuously evolving and as leaders in the industry we have always strived to innovate and evolve with the changing trends. The addition of advertising sales is a long-term strategic decision, and we look forward to exploring multiple opportunities in this space.”
Further to the deal, STARZPLAY has established an advertising sales business team within the company, headed by Hamad Malik, to unlock the potential and growth opportunities of the project.
STARZPLAY plans to expand its sales network to GCC in order to unlock the regional advertising potential for Abu Dhabi Media. This agreement comes as an extension to Abu Dhabi Media’s strategy objectives which was announced in 2020, and aims at providing audiences with compelling, digital first content, expanding its commercial partnerships across the MENA region and investing in local talent.
ENDS
Abu Dhabi Media:
Abu Dhabi Media (ADM) is the UAE’s leading public service broadcaster and media company that focuses on developing, producing and distributing unique premium content, covering news, entertainment, sports and culture to a wide array of demographics across the Arab World.
Established in 1969, in line with the vision of the UAE’s Founding Father, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ADM has become one of the largest media companies in the Middle East and GCC regions and has a major role in fulfilling and promoting the key pillars of the UAE.
Focusing on digital first content, ADM’s portfolio includes exclusively digital assets, as well as digital and traditional platforms for its TV, radio, and print assets.
ADM is also available on Smart TV applications, including Apple TV and Android TV, delivering streaming, catch-up and video on demand services on ADTV and ADSports. Also, the new addition of ADRadio’s digital platforms and applications features audio and podcast streaming across the radio assets.
Today, ADM includes 23 media assets, as well as two subsidiaries – Tawzea and UPP.
Abu Dhabi Media is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a diverse portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy.
About STARZPLAY:
STARZPLAY Arabia (www.starzplay.com) is a subscription video on demand service that streams Hollywood movies, TV shows, documentaries, the same-time-as-the-US series – plus live sports, dedicated kids’ entertainment and Arabic content – to 19 countries across MENA and Pakistan.
The service carries thousands of premium titles including exclusive STARZPLAY Arabia original content such as Baghdad Central, STARZ Original content such as Power, Outlander, Spartacus and The White Queen as well as premium content with add-ons such as discovery+, UFC Arabia, BluTV, Premier Sports, AD Sports, PowerPlay (premium cricket and Asian entertainment), Majid TV and Golf TV.
STARZPLAY Arabia has secured tie ups with a host of leading, global studios including MGM, 20th Century Studios, Warner Bros, Universal, Discovery and Fox International Channels.
Until 2022, STARZ (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) was the lead investor along with media and technology investment firms including SEQ Investors and Delta Partners. In early 2021, STARZPLAY Arabia secured its first independent financing in the region of US$25 million (approx. AED 92 million) from Abu Dhabi based Ruya Partners. In March 2022, E-Vision, from e& and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, acquired a majority equity stake of circa 57% in the company.
Reaching close to 2 million subscribers, STARZPLAY Arabia allows subscribers to watch its full HD and 4K content via most internet-enabled devices, smart TVs and game consoles, and is widely available on regional IPTV services. Its iOS and Android apps – installed on more than three million devices – also allow downloads for offline playback.
Social Tags: @starzplayarabia Instagram, @starzplay Facebook, @STARZPlayArabia Twitter