ISSUE 139 | MARCH 2022
Licensed by Dubai Development Authority
ROTANA EYES
GLOBAL EXPANSION
TV network upgrades MCR at Egyptian facility to scale operations
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GROUP Managing Director Raz Islam raz.islam@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5471 Managing Partner Vijaya Cherian vijaya.cherian@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5472 Director of Finance & Business Operations Shiyas Kareem shiyas.kareem@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5474 EDITORIAL Editor Vijaya Cherian vijaya.cherian@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 55 105 3787 Feature Writer Sarah Nathan Assistant Editor Urooj Fatima Sub Editor Aelred Doyle ADVERTISING Group Sales Director Sandip Virk sandip.virk@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 50 929 1845 +44 (0) 7516 993 862 DESIGN Art Director Simon Cobon Designer Percival Manalaysay MARKETING & EVENTS Events Producer Paul Godfrey paul.godfrey@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5470 Social Media & Marketing Executive Gladys DSouza gladys.dsouza@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 375 5478 Events Executive Minara Salakhi minara.s@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0) 4 433 2856 CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION Data & Distribution Manager Phinson Mathew George phinson.george@cpitrademedia.com +971 (0)4 375 5476 DIGITAL SERVICES Abdul Baeis Sadiq Siddiqui
Welcome The number of varied stories emerging from Saudi Arabia in the last couple of months has been fascinating. While the rest of the world is struggling to slowly find its feet again, Saudi Arabia has used this opportunity to move full throttle to catch up with the rest of the world. And kudos to them for the numerous efforts that they are putting together. Reports from those who have travelled to the Kingdom and back are not just positive but also full of excitement on the kind of change they are witnessing. For a struggling GCC economy, Saudi Arabia’s makeover could not have come at a better time. One such fascinating example is Neom, a futuristic city within the province of Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, which will have its own governance and jurisdiction, and even its own airport. Some of the stories emerging are not just remarkable, they are awe-inspiring. Besides the fact that they are investing in some big-budget films there, building the world’s largest sound stages and games studios and attracting a lot of foreign investment, we hear the city
has no cars. Everyone will use bicycles or walk to get to their destination. But it’s not just Neom. The expanded four-cycle funding from Red Sea Fund, the huge investment in filmmaking and growing local talent … the fact that all these things are happening in parallel is encouraging and inspiring. Now, to make that trip to Saudi Arabia! In the meantime, BroadcastPro ME is hosting its second annual sports conference, this time in conjunction with our title sponsor IP Studios. Besides covering other sports, we have a special focused panel on cricket this year owing to the increased interest in the sport and big plans to bring a league-scale cricket event to the UAE. Attendance at the event is free, so do register at http://2022.fsbsummit.com to attend. I look forward to seeing you online.
Vijaya Cherian, Editorial Director
FOUNDER Dominic De Sousa (1959-2015) Published by
The publisher of this magazine has made every effort to ensure the content is accurate on the date of publication. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials and all other content are published in good faith. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publisher in writing. Publication licensed by Dubai Development Authority to CPI Trade Publishing FZ LLC. Printed by Printwell Printing Press LLC.
ISSUE 139 | MARCH 2022
Licensed by Dubai Development Authority
On this month's cover…
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ROTANA EYES
GLOBAL EXPANSION
TV network upgrades MCR at Egyptian facility to scale operations
Dr. Naser Refaat, CTO, Rotana Media Group.
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March 2022 | www.broadcastprome.com | 1
PROCONTENTS
Inside this issue 05 NEWS Optimizely launches Dubai office; Music streaming service Tidal launches in UAE; Neom and MBC Group to establish AAA games studio in KSA; ADM breaks ties with Choueiri; ViacomCBS rebrands as Paramount; AMT to mark 20th anniversary with community event; and more 14 CASE STUDY MAP chooses FOR-A kit for Emirates Draw broadcasts
16 COVER – GEARING UP
FOR GLOBAL EXPANSION Rotana undertook an ambitious upgrade of its MCR recently, as part of a phased plan to revamp its entire facility. BroadcastPro takes a tour of the new MCR
22 UPPING THE TECH GAME The UAE Pro League went all out with buggy cams, live drone footage and vertical production for the Super Cup in January. The full story!
March 2022 MBC AND NEOM TIE UP FOR GAMES STUDIO
MAP CHOOSES FOR-A FOR EMIRATES DRAW
14
05 ROTANA MAKES MCR FUTURE-READY
BUGGY CAMS GRACE UAE FOOTBALL FIELDS
16
22 INTERVIEW – ARCHANA ANAND, ZEE5
A MULTI-PRONGED ATTACK ON PIRACY
26 TACKLING PIRACY Simon Brydon recommends a multi-pronged approach
30
26 TAKING THE OTT
BULL BY ITS HORNS Archana Anand on Zee5 Global’s 2021 successes and 2022 plans
34 SAUDI SPORTS
26 PRODUCING THE SUPER BOWL FOR SSC
NEW LAUNCHES IN THE MARKET
COMMISSION COVERS SUPER BOWL FOR LOCAL MARKET AVC, on behalf of SSC, used cloud solutions for this production
40 GUEST COLUMN Francesco Perta of Discovery talks about how to stand out in a content-saturated market
34
38 March 2022 | www.broadcastprome.com | 3
PRONEWS
Digital experience platform provider Optimizely launches Dubai office Optimizely has expanded its global presence into the MEA region with the opening of a new office in Dubai. Its footprint in Dubai will help to expand the company’s presence in the region and enable further adoption of its tools by businesses for creating, managing and personalising digital experiences on the web and in mobile apps, the company said. Jesper Broberg will lead the team of 12 digital experience experts in
Alex Atzberger, CEO of Optimizely.
the region as Regional VP. With more than 20 years’ experience in the IT industry, working in business development functions across sales, presales, partner and account management and project management, he will drive customer acquisition, product innovation and business value. Alex Atzberger, CEO of Optimizely, said: “We are planning to have local hosting for our Digital Experience Platform (DXP).
In today’s digital-first world, our DXP empowers companies to adapt and thrive by responding to customer behaviours across the entire customer journey.” Optimizely’s DXP includes a set of content, commerce, experimentation, customer data and personalisation capabilities that provide recommendations on content that can be improved. It uses behavioural analysis and machine learning to provide automated recommendations and personalisation.
Music streaming service Tidal launches in UAE Global music streaming service Tidal has launched in the UAE. First launched in 2015, the platform now offers more than 80 million songs and playlists. For artists, it offers new ways to get paid to help them create on their own terms with support from fans. Tidal offers two subscription options for users: Tidal HiFi and Tidal HiFi Plus. The former is available for $5.50 a month and offers an ad-free experience where users can connect the app to other speakers and download music for offline listening. Tidal HiFi Plus, which is available for $11 a month, offers all the benefits
of Tidal HiFi as well as fancentred royalties, directto-artist payouts and early access to exclusive offerings and upcoming features. It also boasts immersive sound formats (Dolby Atmos
Music and Sony 360 Audio Recordings) and is Master Quality Authenticated (MQA). Tidal considers itself an artist-first platform, offering direct-to-artist payouts, which means every month a percentage of HiFi Plus subscribers’ fees are directed toward their top streamed artist. It is also launching fan-centred royalties later this year, where royalties will be paid based on the streaming activity of an individual HiFi Plus subscriber. Tidal members will have access to regularly updated playlists showcasing local artists, including new music across different genres.
Fares Akkad appointed Regional Director for Meta MENA Meta has appointed Fares Akkad as Regional Director for the MENA region, effective March 1. He will be responsible for designing and leading the commercial growth of the company and its portfolio of apps, services and businesses across MENA. Akkad previously served as Director of Media Partnerships for News in Growth Markets at Meta, prior to which he worked with MBC Group.
March 2022 | www.broadcastprome.com | 5
PRONEWS
Neom and MBC Group to establish AAA games studio in Saudi Arabia MBC Group and Neom have signed a joint venture agreement to establish the first AAA games development studio in the region. Currently being incubated with developers from all over the world, the studio will relocate to Neom’s media hub next year and aims to produce high-productionvalue games for local, regional and international gamers. The partnership highlights Neom’s push to create a new centre for the region’s media and creative industries by establishing a physically and technologically integrated creative media hub focused on screen production, gaming and digital publishing.
Top officials from MBC Group and Neom at the signing ceremony.
The gaming studio will create opportunities for Saudi Arabia, and regional gamers and developers seeking to build a career in the industry. Further to the core studio disciplines of game design, programming, art and audio production, the
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture and GEA sign deal to develop entertainment sector Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture and General Entertainment Authority has signed an agreement to develop the cultural and entertainment sectors in line with the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, Saudi Press Agency reported. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Minister of Culture, and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority Turki Al Sheikh signed the memorandum of understanding in Riyadh. The deal includes
cooperation in implementing the strategies of the Kingdom’s eleven cultural bodies and coordination between the two sectors to issue licences and permits and content approval. It also includes cooperation between the two parties to develop capacities, classify cultural and entertainment professions, stimulate investment in both sectors and jointly implement recreational activities.
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studio is expected to create significant job opportunities across many directly linked industries, the entities said in a joint statement. Nadhmi Al-Nasr, CEO of Neom, said: “We know there is a growing convergence between gaming and the media sector
Rotana Media Services to be exclusive media rep for Fatafeat Discovery Inc. has appointed Rotana Media Services (RMS) as the sole media representative for Fatafeat in the MENA region. Layla Tamim, Head of Ad Sales and Brand Partnerships MENA, Discovery, said: “The growing demand for Fatafeat content inspired us to build a 360-brand experience, expanding our ecosystem through solid partnerships. Partnering with Rotana Media Services will allow us to develop more bespoke offerings and deliver even better brand experiences to our fans and clients.”
more broadly, so by building one we are helping the other grow. Establishing this studio creates future-proof career paths and job opportunities in an environment that fosters creativity, entrepreneurship and talent development, in line with Saudi Vision 2030.” Waleed Al Ibrahim, MBC Group Chairman, said: “Our partnership with Neom unlocks new opportunities in the region’s media industry, which will enable Saudi Arabia to emerge as a leading global media hub. MBC will put all of its expertise behind this project to become an economic and technical incubator for a new generation of media talent.”
ADM breaks up with Choueiri Abu Dhabi Media (ADM) has ended its contract with MediaSat, a subsidiary of Choueiri Group. From last month, the exclusive rights for advertisement sales services in the field of entertainment reverted to Abu Dhabi TV network and ADM’s radio channels, print publications and digital platforms. ADM will work closely with its clients, including prominent brands, marketing and advertising companies, and digital consumers, to meet the requirements of its partners and stakeholders.
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PRONEWS
ViacomCBS rebrands as Paramount, unveils global expansion plans ViacomCBS has changed its corporate name to Paramount, effective last month, bringing together its portfolio of premium entertainment properties under a new parent company name. The company’s shares will trade on the Nasdaq stock exchange as PARAA (Class A common), PARA (Class B common) and PARAP (Preferred Stock). In addition to the name change, the company detailed plans to accelerate the global momentum behind Paramount+, unveiling new content, enhanced product offerings and continued international expansion at its investor event. Bob Bakish, President and CEO, said: “We see a huge global opportunity in
streaming, a much larger potential market than can be captured by linear TV and film alone. We’re excited about our ability to not just compete but thrive, creating significant value for both consumers and shareholders. How? Because we’re broader in four key areas: our diverse content, streaming model, a
mix of platforms and global reach. As we look forward, the size of the opportunity we see is matched only by our ambition to seize it.” Paramount will continue the global expansion of Paramount+ in 2022. The company announced that Paramount+ will make its debut in France as an
KSA launches entertainment fellowship programme Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has launched a new initiative, Happiness Creators, the first entertainment fellowship programme to boost the country’s entertainment sector. It has three tracks: Entertainment Events, Entertainment Destinations and Electronic Entertainment. The registration for the three tracks is available on the website, the authority said, noting that the application deadline is different for each track.
Participants in the fellowship programme, which runs for six to eight months, will work with universities and entertainment companies around the world and have the opportunity to earn globally recognised qualifications. The Entertainment Events track includes the functions of organisation, coordination and implementation, in addition to designing events for various target groups. The Entertainment Destinations track’s objective
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is activating entertainment experiences, managing and operating the sites and their visitors. The programme will provide trainees with the latest mechanisms used in organising and coordinating local and international entertainment and music festivals. The trainees will also receive globally recognised certificates and licences in the entertainment sector in its various fields. They will be provided with accommodation, travel and transportation expenses as well.
exclusive bundle with Canal+ Group. Paramount+ will also be available on an a-la-carte and direct-to-consumer basis in the French market. In 2023, the company will look to Asia, Africa and the Middle East, building on Paramount+’s momentum to grow its presence. The company delivered more than 56m total global streaming subscribers and 84% revenue growth in the direct-to-consumer segment in 2021. As a result of its streaming momentum and incremental investments, it is raising its global streaming subscriber goal from 65-75m to more than 100m by year-end 2024. The company is also raising its 2024 DTC revenue goal from $6bn to $9bn.
Al Dafrah updates to Etere 32 Dubai satellite TV channel Al Dafrah has implemented a new software release from Etere. Etere 32 will help the channel amplify its system performance, interoperability and reliability. Etere 32’s new features include full compatibility with Windows 11, support for the creation of individual and customisable desktops as well as Android apps and remote control for smartphones, introduction of Snap Groups, and various other functionalities. The update also features a new integrated graphics inserter for Etere Nunzio Newsroom.
PRONEWS
KSA’s Cultural Development Fund to finance film sector with $234.4m Saudi Arabia’s Cultural Development Fund (CDF) has announced its Film Sector Financing Programme, which aims to boost the Saudi film sector’s infrastructure and production with a budget of $234.28m. Mohammed Bin Dayel, CEO of the CDF, tweeted: “The Film Sector Financing Programme comes to make a qualitative leap in a promising sector and to empower talented people who are passionate about making a change and impact. I am excited to support our local makers and creators.” Production and distribution companies, as well as all privatesector organisations working in the film industry, will benefit from the programme’s financing packages, which will enhance their competitiveness. The budget is divided into two parts — 70% of it will be allocated to developing, producing and distributing content, and 30% to developing the sector’s infrastructure. The ministry will open the door for funding applications later in 2022.
Arabic adaptation of Suits to release during Ramadan 2022 NBCUniversal Formats, a division of Universal Studio Group, has teamed up with Cairo-based media production outfit TVision and OSN to produce the Arabic version of Suits. The TV series is set to premiere on OSN’s satellite platform and streaming app, while Egyptian audiences will be able to stream it on the Egyptian media giant UMS' FTA channels and its streaming app Watchit in April 2022. The Arabic version is being written by Mohamed Hefzy and Yasser Abdel Mageed. It will be directed by Myriam Ahmadi and produced by TVision Media Productions founder and CEO Tarek El Ganainy. Egyptian star Asser Yassin will play the lead, reprising the role of Harvey Specter, while Ahmed Dawoud will
play Mike, Harvey’s mentee. Filming began in January and the first two 30-episode seasons will launch on OSN on April 2. El Ganainy said: “We are thrilled to launch the Arabic version of Suits, an international adaptation of one of the most successful television series. Repurposing
this type of show into regional formats is vitally important in the context of Egypt’s ongoing development as a mature and compelling media market. While it remains heavily inspired by the US drama, our version is unique and authentic to Egypt, featuring a celebrated cast of regional stars.”
Fujifilm Middle East announces new appointment Fujifilm Middle East has appointed Ala'a Siam as Regional Manager, Middle East and Africa for the Optical Devices Division. He will be responsible for an extensive line-up of products in the division, which includes 4K and 8K broadcast and cinema lenses as well as highend, three-axis projectors, long-range security products and highprecision machine vision lenses. He will report
Ala'a Siam previously worked with Canon.
to Chris Darnley, GM for Fujifilm Middle East FZE. Siam was previously Business Development Manager (Pro Video) at Canon and is well-known in the region. Prior to that, he worked with MediaCast and For-A in Dubai. He takes over from Amrit Pandrangi, who has now moved on to a new role at Fujifilm Business Innovation, a division the company is bringing to the MEA region.
March 2022 | www.broadcastprome.com | 9
PRONEWS
Advanced Media to celebrate 20th anniversary with digital cinema event Advanced Media Trading LLC, distributor of professional broadcast and production equipment in MENA, will be marking its 20th anniversary in March with the return of its CineIn 2020 event in a new format. Titled CINE2022, it will be held at Advanced Media’s new premises on Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 2-8pm, March 17-19. The three-day digital cinema community event will include seven 90-minute workshops with trainers from different areas of production covering a range of topics – how to do an 8K project, HDR, choosing the right lenses, colour grading, and using RGB lighting for production. The distributor aims to create an opportunity for filmmakers, production enthusiasts and industry experts to come together to showcase and discuss the latest technologies, trends and solutions in digital cinema, broadcast and video. Alaa Al Rantisi, Managing Director and co-founder, said: “After two years of the pandemic, we miss directly interacting and communicating with many manufacturers and end users whom we used to meet regularly at exhibitions. This will be a great opportunity to gather and share information and of course discuss all the exciting developments in our fields. This is a remarkable milestone for us, and we cannot think of a better way to mark it than with our peers. We are grateful to the
Advanced Media's 1,500sqm showroom will be converted into a mini exhibition space for the event.
government of Dubai for making it possible to host an event of this scale.” The distributor’s 1,500sqm office and showroom will be converted to showcase the potential and flexibility of the space and to serve as a community meeting point where cinematography equipment ranging from cameras and lenses to audio products will be demonstrated. Kaveh Farnam, CEO of Advanced Media, commented that the company’s primary objective is to create a community event that enables dialogue and discussion
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between broadcast and production professionals. Advanced Media regularly hosts free training sessions for production and broadcast professionals. “We have found it a lot more rewarding to host small private events at our facility and bring together a niche crowd of broadcast and production professionals,” commented Farnam. “We will invite our clients and suppliers to join us so they can also network with our customers. The aim is for this showcase to be perceived as a digital cinema event rather than
an Advanced Media event. Our workshops will reflect this by being vendoragnostic, as we want to educate our attendees about specific topics within the industry rather than train them on equipment from specific brands.” Nevertheless, some brands which Advanced Media represents, like Sony, Manfrotto, RED, Zeiss, DJI, Astera and Sennheiser, will have a prominent presence at the event. Besides having specific tables cordoned off for brands and for the camera kit, there will be two camera sets with proper lighting and sets, according to Marketing Manager Pooyan Farnam. “With a lot of demand for equipment and some customers spending hours playing with equipment at the new showroom, Advanced Media felt that this event would serve as the perfect platform to bring together production enthusiasts to share their passion for filming with each other.” Advanced Media expects to host 300-500 people at the event and up to 50 attendees for each workshop. CINE2022 will follow local and international guidelines regarding the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure a healthy and safe experience for everyone, the team said. In keeping with the spirit of celebrations, Advanced Media also hopes to include a series of stimulating and nostalgic surprises as part of the event.
PRONEWS
OSN expands partnership with Endeavor Content
A scene from the drama series Tell Me Your Secrets, which will be showcased on OSN.
OSN has expanded its partnership with US global premium content studio Endeavor Content. All series will be available exclusively to OSN customers across the
streaming app and channels. Commenting on the partnership, Prentiss Fraser, EVP TV Distribution at Endeavor Content, said: “We are excited to extend our
relationship with OSN with this slate of new, original and best-in-category titles that showcase dynamic storytelling with an international appeal.” Nick Forward, MD Streaming & Chief Content Officer at OSN, added: “Endeavor Content has one of the most exciting slates in the business, working with some of the world’s most extraordinary creative voices. In addition to an incredible line-up from Warner Bros. and HBO, this deal is yet another step towards bringing the very best of TV entertainment to OSN’s customers.”
A third of Saudi Arabia's residents prefer local Arabic television content: Kearney survey At least 33% of Saudi residents prefer to watch local Arabic TV content over international content, according to a survey commissioned by Kearney. It reports a demand for more quality content, with 21% of respondents saying they would like to see more localised Arabic content on television and other media platforms. To meet this need, 63% of respondents are willing to pay a premium, with 25% willing to pay a fee to avoid advertisements on media platforms. The study notes a higher willingness to pay for high-quality video on demand (42%) than
Adel Belcaid, Head of Comms, Media, and Technology at Kearney Middle East.
for other content media, including social media (37%), television (32%), gaming websites (32%), online news portals (22%), print news publications (19%), podcasts (19%) and radio (17%).
Respondents aged 18-34 are more likely to pay for quality content than 35+-year-olds, particularly on newer channels of consumption such as video on demand (96%) compared to more traditional channels such as newspapers and magazines (37%). Speaking about the report, Adel Belcaid, Head of Communications, Media, and Technology at Kearney Middle East, said: “Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s youngest and most digitally attuned major markets, with the population consuming vast terabytes of video, audio and gaming content."
Hope Ventures signs exclusive deal to stream Bahraini TV show on Shahid Hope Ventures, the Bahraini investment arm of Hope Fund, an initiative established by the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, has announced the launch of Beban, an unscripted entrepreneurial reality TV show for MENA audiences. The show features unstaged recorded pitching sessions by ambitious Bahraini entrepreneurs to a panel of four Bahraini and Saudi investors. More than $1m was invested in participating start-ups during the show, which features businesses operating across the sectors of Technology, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing and Sports Retail. Fajer Al Pachachi, GM of Hope Ventures, said: “The show promo has already received more than 2,000 organic shares within the first few hours of its release on social media. We’re now prepping for season two, which will feature more businesses across diverse sectors." As we went to press, a new season was announced with the show set to welcome more than 20 local businesses, who were to be selected through a rigorous evaluation process.
March 2022 | www.broadcastprome.com | 11
PRONEWS
Red Sea Fund expands to four cycles Red Sea Film Foundation has announced a new funding strategy to enable filmmakers from Saudi Arabia, the wider Arab region and Africa to bring more diverse and authentic films to global audiences. The newly designed Fund will expand from one funding cycle to four cycles throughout the year, with two cycles dedicated to post-production and separate cycles for development and production. The first post-production cycle for feature films, documentaries and animations
closed last month. The development support cycle will open in April, followed by production support in June and
Saudi Broadcasting Authority launches first news radio station Saudi Broadcasting Authority launched the Kingdom's first news radio station last month. As the radio arm of state TV channel Al Ekhbariya, the station aims to help SBA focus on local content and move toward specialisation. Mohammed Al-Harithi, CEO of SBA, said the launch comes within the framework of the authority’s strategy of distributing media discourse
across all platforms and shifting towards specialised media to meet the needs of segments of Saudi society. Al Ekhbariya Radio will initially be broadcast on FM in three regions: Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. It will feature updated bulletins, news briefs and stories covering a variety of societal issues, and the most prominent international developments.
Avid to skip major 2022 trade shows Avid Technology will continue its pause on exhibiting at large trade shows throughout 2022. Due to the ongoing ebb and flow of Covid-19, the company’s leadership maintains it is not yet feasible to reliably predict the pandemic’s path, nor to ensure
that large groups of its employees can be expected to convene at events that typically draw thousands of attendees. Therefore, consistent with its strategy since 2020, Avid will not host exhibits at the annual NAB, NAMM and IBC shows this year.
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the second post-production support cycle in August. Shivani Pandya Malhotra, Managing Director of the Red
Sea International Festival, said: “The Red Sea Foundation is committed to investing in, developing and promoting filmmakers from the Arab world and Africa as they continue to develop their skills to bring compelling stories across a range of genres, cultures and perspectives to the screen. These additional funding cycles ... will provide talented filmmakers with the tools they need to develop unique and compelling films that represent and reflect the Arab world and Africa.”
Rising Giants Network to launch immersive podcasts for kids Rising Giants Network (RGN), a bilingual podcasting network, is set to launch a kid-friendly immersive narrative podcast experience. Titled RGN AJYAL, it will target children aged three and up and will initially launch with two podcasts. The first, Qosas wa hikayat, went live on Feb 15. This storytelling podcast is scripted specifically for kids aged four and up. The second podcast, scheduled to debut in March, is titled Men Hawlina Aswat and is similarly aimed at kids aged three and up. In conjunction with storytelling, it will assist youngsters in identifying and exploring various sets of sounds. Both podcasts are in Arabic.
Basel Anabtawi, co-founder of RGN.
Commenting on the launch, Basel Anabtawi, CEO and co-founder of RGN, said: “We are excited to launch this new storytelling experience for kids. The podcasts are carefully curated to ensure they are fun, engaging and that they contribute to the growth and development of the younger generation."
PROCASESTUDY
FOR-A provides MAP with production kit for Emirates Draw broadcasts
From left: Imad Bassil, owner and GM of MAP, with Mohammed Abu Ziyadeh, System Engineering Manager for FOR-A Middle East & Africa.
FOR-A has delivered a complete flyaway production kit to Fujairah-based Media and Art Production (MAP). The kit is designed to provide the technology platform for Emirates Draw, a live entertainment and draw programme in the UAE broadcast every Sunday in prime time. MAP is a major facilities company serving the UAE and the broader region. As well as providing production and post-production creative services, it also develops technology solutions to support them. For Emirates Draw, it provides complete production services from creative concepts to delivery. When MAP was contracted to undertake the Emirates
Draw project, a key creative decision was to ensure the production would not be studio-bound. Rather, it would reflect the diverse nature of the country by taking the draw and its surrounding entertainment out to a different location each Sunday. That called for a portable technology platform flexible enough to meet the needs of each site while delivering very high production values. While the show is currently broadcast in HD, MAP wanted the capability of moving to 4k Ultra HD in time, to reflect the demands of the audience. “We have in-house engineering resources who are up to date with
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“We demonstrated that FOR-A could deliver all the quality, reliability and ease of use they demanded, that we could provide technical and operational support to MAP’s in-house engineering team and we could complete the project to their tight time scales” Mohammed Abu Ziyadeh, System Engineering Manager, FOR-A MEA
everything that is on the market,” says Imad Bassil, owner and GM of MAP. “They set about designing a flyaway system that would deliver the flexibility we needed, alongside the ability to be rapidly rigged and cleared at a new location each week.” MAP was already familiar with FOR-A as a provider, having used its switchers in the past as well as operating an LTO-based archive from the company. So discussions started around a production switcher for Emirates Draw. “Our operators were comfortable with the HVS490, and we saw that as the right choice for this project,” says Bassil. “But as we talked to Mohammed Abu Ziyadeh of FOR-A in Dubai,
PROCASESTUDY
we realised that we could get more of the kit from the company. We eventually ended up with a powerful, integrated system that would be a real benefit in our day-to-day operations.” As the negotiations went on, a 642 MFR-3000 routing switcher and multi-viewer were added, followed by an instant replay system, video servers, graphics and the necessary signal processing to link it all up. FOR-A was also able to provide support for MAP’s in-house engineering team on the designing and systems integration. Crucial to MAP’s decisionmaking was the system’s scalability. It could change from HD to Ultra HD (over 4k quad SDI) at the flick of a switch. Routers and servers could also be expanded in capacity as the production requirements developed. Because the flyaway kit is based on SDI, it can be readily deployed when the show rents space at Dubai Studio City, dropping
A FOR-A production switcher, router and multi-viewer at the Emirates Draw flyaway studio.
“We eventually ended up with a powerful, integrated system that would be a real benefit in our dayto-day operations” Imad Bassil, GM, MAP
Teams from MAP and FOR-A at Emirates Draw.
the kit that the show’s production team is familiar with into an existing studio cabling infrastructure. The complete solution delivered to MAP included an HVS-490 production switcher, MFR-3000 routing switcher with multi-viewer, Insight servers and Envivo replay management, ClassX graphics platforms, and multi-
channel signal processor. FOR-A was able to deliver all the equipment to a tight time scale. This was important, as MAP had an immovable deadline for the new Emirates Draw show: it would be seen first on UAE National Day, 2 December, 2021. The flyaway system is now in routine use week after week to deliver the creative vision of the show’s producers and engage audiences for one of the region’s most popular shows, broadcast live from a different location every week. Mohammed Abu Ziyadeh, System Engineering Manager for FOR-A MEA, says this project was the perfect showcase: “We demonstrated that FOR-A could deliver all the quality, reliability and ease of use they demanded, that we could provide technical and operational support to MAP’s in-house engineering team and we could complete the project to their tight time scales.” PRO
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PROCOVER
GEARING UP FOR GLOBAL EXPANSION
Rotana Media Group is ambitiously upgrading various parts of its facility in Egypt with state-of-the-art infrastructure, as part of a larger plan to move more aggressively into global markets. BroadcastPro ME brings you an exclusive look at the new MCR, the first part of the upgrade
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PROCOVER
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CTO Dr Naser Refaat, who oversaw the project for Rotana, says 70% of the MCR's hardware was outdated and no longer supported.
Rotana Media Group, owned by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, recently undertook a significant upgrade to its master control room (MCR) in Egypt, from where it runs most of its media operations. The MCR, which runs the core of Rotana TV network's playout as well as satellite and IP deliveries and distribution worldwide, is the first of many critical areas within the media facility being refurbished as part of a larger and more ambitious global TV multilingual expansion plan and non-linear distribution strategy. The Rotana Technical Project Engineering division, helmed by CTO Dr Naser Refaat, oversaw the project, with Egyptian firm Systems Design the prime integrator and Imagine Communications providing a substantial portion of the equipment. The new facility was inaugurated by Walid Arab Hashem, Vice Chairman of Rotana Media Group, late last year. The new MCR enables efficient and seamless distribution of Rotana's 25 (15 native HD and 10 SD TV channels with native HD backend) linear playout channels for FTA, DTH, IPTV and OTT services,
“We were in urgent need of an upgrade for the infrastructure to support native HD video with incremental full-HD playout chains to cope with market requirements” Dr Naser Refaat, CTO, Rotana Media Group as well as an FM radio channel. It can accommodate an additional 15 linear channels with built-in encryption modules in the future. With this new facility and
Walid Arab Hashem, Vice Chairman and CEO of Rotana Media Group, inaugurated the upgraded MCR.
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technology, Rotana is also better placed to handle the ad-sales and new technological ad-sales replacement, as well as its Hbbtv interactivity and TV distribution commitments for its 25 channels via the four satellites – Nilesat, Arabsat, Yahsat, Hotbird and Intelsat – plus 62 direct IP streams to international distributors. Dr Refaat explains that 70% of the MCR's hardware was outdated and not supported by current technologies. Its wiring was old, unstable and unmanageable for easy replacement, causing ongoing stability issues. The refurbishment, which includes an infrastructure overhaul and cabling, graphics and automation solutions, will help the media conglomerate scale, expand and adapt easily to future standards and formats. “We were in urgent need of an upgrade for the infrastructure to support native HD video with incremental full-HD playout chains to cope with market requirements,” explains Dr Refaat. “But we had a low budget for this project, so we had to think outside the box to find solutions to fulfil the playout operational sustainability with the best quality while building a future path for expansion.” At the core of the new MCR is the latest Imagine ADC-100 automation system with IP integration; Imagine 256x256 HD/ IP router; Imagine HD/ultra-HD playout and Nexio servers; Ross Xpression on-air Graphics; Cisco IT backend; Elemental streamers; and transcoding servers that seamlessly integrate with an Amazon AWS cloud system, a BTS cloud traffic system, EMC archive storage and Imagine e-motion media mover. The MCR also marries Rotana’s BTS traffic and financial systems. The existing on-air graphic systems were connected with the new Ross Xpression Studio multichannel CG, and automated and
PROCOVER
The upgraded MCR.
Snapshot Objective: To upgrade the MCR to a state-of-theart facility for the global distribution of all linear, streaming and IPTV feeds End user: Rotana Media Group Location: Egypt Key systems integrator: Systems Design Key suppliers: Imagine Communications, Ross Video, AWS Elemental and MediaKind. A full integration was undertaken with NileSat for the playout and uplink systems
Dr Naser Refaat with project members, Rotana engineers and the team from Systems Design.
integrated with the central on-air graphic database and Rotana's promo and on-air graphics department. The complete layout and structure of the MCR was reorganised to match contemporary playout operations and give the operations team a swanky work environment befitting Rotana's image. “Imagine was the leading playout partner for Rotana playout since 2002 and still is, due to its technology invocations, stability and extraordinary on-site support,” explains Dr Refaat. Rotana has used many of Imagine’s networking and playout technologies, including ADC automation, Nexio video servers and storage, Nexio Motion workflow management, Platinum IP3 routers, MV and other solutions. Over the years, it has worked with Rotana on several technology refreshes and upgrades. “In each one of these transitions, Imagine Communications put together a plan and worked through several workshops with the partner and Rotana management and technology teams in order to brainstorm, identify business challenges, discuss new requirements and areas of improvement, and then provide guidance on the best and most effective way for them to move forward. Our recommendations, while always looking to meet the customer’s budget, aimed to maximise and boost their revenue from such investments,” explains Anas Hantash, head of Middle East, South Asia and North Africa for Imagine Communications. “Moving forward with Imagine in this project reduced the risk of integration and gave us faster implementation time. As all Rotana engineers are ex-integrators and have worked with Imagine Communications systems in many other successful installations, this became easier,” adds Dr Refaat. As a large media house with several channels on multiple
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PROCOVER
Clockwise from bottom left: The Rotana engineering team and various parts of the facility that were upgraded as part of this phase.
platforms, the upgrade was not without its challenges. “We had to remove the on-air main component from the existing solution to a new partial component system, to make up parallel channels while maintaining zero downtime for the current 25-channel playout chains. We had to remove more than five miles of cable that had been laid from 2004 to March 2021 while maintaining zero downtime. Then there was the reorganisation of the complete structure and layout to create a modern-day playout environment. We also had less than two months to undertake the final HD upgrade, while something like this would typically take six months to accomplish,” says Dr Refaat. An important element of this upgrade is the linear ad replacement infrastructure, which gives Rotana's partners the ability to monetise SCTE, FAST and DAI Programmatic advertisements on both satellite and direct IP streams. While this overhaul has not been a full
“We had to think outside the box to find solutions to fulfil the playout operational sustainability with the best quality while building a future path for expansion” Dr Naser Refaat, CTO, Rotana Media Group replacement of equipment, it includes installing and automating SCTE-104 adbreak tag insertors for global monetisation and regional distribution of content replacements. The new add-on services for linear ad replacements (SCTE- Hbbtv) and a central IP distribution system for catch-up, VOD and IPTV are significant. Another critical element of the renovation is reconfiguring the Rotana satellite MUX system PID's signals, with Hbbtv tags for overlay ad placement and interactivity with e-commerce gateways and many other web-based services for smart TVs. The MCR currently supports video formats such as XDCAMHD, Apple Pro-Res and H264, with the
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capability to add H265 soon. There was a lot of data migration required, including automated migration with related database servers and routers, central DB migration for on-air graphics systems, and an IT and security infrastructure migration. Rotana has also expanded its central apparatus room (CAR) real estate footprint with the new MCR by installing new racks and an entire 2K/4K wiring system. It has also upgraded all infrastructures to support native HD/4K video to cope with market requirements. The refurbished MCR further streamlines Rotana's operations by centralising content contributions to all MENA Rotana TV network studios. A big highlight of the refurbishment is direct integration of the MCR with Rotana's tapeless archive library and MAM system at Egyptian Media Production City, through dedicated fibre links to the new Rotana playout centre five miles away.
PROSPORT
GAME FOR MORE
January’s Super Cup wasn’t just a thrilling football match between two stalwart teams, it marked the debut of a number of exciting firsts on the UAE football scene, from buggy cams and live drone footage to vertical production for mobile phone users. The UAE Pro League team speaks to BroadcastPro ME in an exclusive interview about how these new technologies have brough a fresh perspective to the UAE Pro League’s Super Cup telecast
Since its inception, the UAE Pro League has striven to be at the forefront of broadcast and technology developments in the football industry. With the 20172020 strategic plan placing special emphasis on the adoption of technology, the entity believes the introduction of new technology is crucial to bringing distinctiveness and freshness to local football coverage. This has always been evident in the production of the UAE Super Cup, a pivotal event for the country’s broadcast community. As the entity in charge of UAE football, the UAE Pro League has often used every opportunity to
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showcase its ideas and implement the latest technology in football coverage. January’s Super Cup was no exception as the Pro League went all out to produce a match that established a series of firsts for the MENA region. For one, Amy Gillingham joined the team as the first female football commentator. Secondly, this event saw the use of buggy cams for the first time in MENA, according to the team. The telecast was also the Pro League’s first full vertical production, with its entire crew working on special mobile coverage enhanced with live drone footage combined with augmented reality (AR) – another first for
PROSPORT
The UAE Pro League brought in a buggy cam for the first time in the region for the Super Cup in January.
the region. The Pro League had more than 40 cameras for the host broadcaster and another 40 cameras for unilateral production, with more than 400 people working for three days to produce the best match of the season. Overseeing this entire production was Waleed Al Hosani, UAE Pro League CEO, with Malek Dougan, Marketing & Commercial Affairs Director, and Ammar Hina, former Broadcast & TV Production Director. This project was Hina’s last before setting out to undertake other sports projects across the region. “It has always been our objective to be seen as a pioneering sports entity in this region, so over the years we have continuously innovated by working with key vendors and solution providers to keep enhancing the quality of our productions,” explains Al Hosani. “For this project, we had the opportunity to play with a number of different technologies and it really raised the value of our production. As a company that now sells its rights to both local and international broadcasters, we have ensured our production standards are nothing short of the best on an international scale.” Buggy cams roll into MENA football While buggy cams have been a vital part of cricket broadcast for a long time, their use on the football pitch, especially in Asia and MENA, have been considerably limited due to the sport’s short play and on-air times. It’s also more challenging to manoeuvre buggy cams in the space around a football field, with regulators expressing safety concerns for players. On the upside, they offer a dynamic view of the action on the field, allowing live shots and making each frame very eye-catching. The UAE Pro League decided to
“As a company that now sells its rights to both local and international broadcasters, we have ensured our production standards are nothing short of the best on an international scale” Waleed Al Hosani, UAE Pro League CEO break the barriers and use the Super Cup to pave the way for buggy cams on the Middle East football scene. The UAE Pro League’s buggy cams are provided by Quidich
Innovation Labs, with its technical team helping the Pro League get fantastic coverage of the Super Cup. The fiveaxis-stabilised camera is ideal for low-angle captures and the dual-operator set-up allows extreme precision, enabling the buggy cam to deliver both slow shots for TV and fast moves racing alongside the athletes. “For us, the idea was not just the technology itself, but how to utilise it in the best way possible. The UAE Pro League crew was so excited about the buggy cams that there were more than 20 members praying that the match would end in draw at the time,” Hina lets on. A draw would lead to a penalty shootout, meaning the cameras would be able to come out in full force, rolling into the empty parts of the pitch to get the shots the crew was dreaming of. “When Al Jazira club scored the draw, celebrations broke out inside the OB truck!” Social verticals With 50% of fans watching matches and football clips on mobile devices, the UAE Pro League wants to capitalise on the vertical production trend.
The UAE Pro League has introduced new technologies with the aim of bringing freshness to its coverage of the Super Cup.
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PROSPORT
The team used a mix of AR elements and drone footage at the event.
Hina predicts that vertical production may even become the future of football telecast as production choices are driven by the change in media consumption and fan preferences. He calls this the social media change. It’s within this context that a special mobile device production with vertical aspect only for mobile phone viewers became the crowning jewel of this year’s broadcast and another exciting MEA first for the Super Cup. Typically, mobile phone users use the vertical aspect to watch clips, zooming in or minimising the 16:9 aspect. Mobile phones use a 9:16 aspect, which is harder to shoot in due to the narrower field of view. Compared to the traditional 16:9, it makes tracking of fast-moving players and the ball more challenging, especially since the director and the cameramen only have a third of the screen to work with instead of the traditional landscape screen. To counter this, the UAE Pro League employed extra cameras and doubled its production kit and bulk of convertors to ensure the mobile screen aspects were right. Additionally, special
the DFL produced a 9:16 format in addition to the broadcast format, providing a totally new experience to viewers. It added five new cameras in order to capture images in that ratio, for a total of 24 cameras throughout the stadium, mounted on special tripods that could rotate them to 90 degrees. In the control room, the monitors were also rotated to have the transmission in this spatial format. These signals were only added to the broadcast specifically intended for mobile devices.
“For us, the idea was not just the technology itself, but how to utilise it in the best way possible” Ammar Hina, former Broadcast & TV Production Director tripods were used to allow fans to engage with a full 4K UHD vertical video without pixel degradation. The Pro League team drew inspiration from Deutsche Fußball Liga Digital Sports and Sportcast (DFL). In a 2019 match between VfL Wolfsburg and SV Werder Bremen in Germany,
Hitching on the VR trend With all the new technology whizzing onto the football pitch, it may seem that the traditional broadcast of premium matches will be affected. Hina quickly refutes this. “Sitting around a big screen with ardent fans, good friends and family will remain the best way to watch and enjoy football,” he opines. “The change is coming, but mobile devices being used as screens to watch sports will be limited. While many mobile-device producers keep enhancing the size of the screens, they still remain the second-best screen option for
VR training vs real-life training for footballers Research shows that VR training can be just as effective as real-life training for footballers, reducing the after-effects of sub-concussive events such as heading the ball (over 6,000 headers are made every season in the course of training), which could be a bigger contributing factor to dementia than concussions themselves. Ammar Hina seated in the LIVE HD OB truck.
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PROSPORT
now. I doubt they will replace the big screen, but this is something we will need to conduct more research and fans surveys on.” But where mobile plays may not be able to convince TV viewers to convert, virtual reality (VR) may become the X factor. VR casting allows fans to watch the action from amazing new viewing positions, recreating the stadium experience in the highest visual quality available. VR set-ups use an ultra-HD camera to capture tangible sideline views, a wide-view camera to see the entire field and more perspectives from cameras on each goalpost. Interactive elements such as access to replays and stats are already making VR a favourite with die-hard fans. The UAE Pro League is already prepared for this change, as the first to use VR telecasting for a match – in 2018 for the UAE Pro League Cup final at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain. More bang for the buck Despite the introduction of the latest technology for production and broadcast, the UAE Pro League managed to maintain its regular budget. Even the cost of technical integration of old and new systems was kept down to a minimum, says Hina. In some instances, it spent less than budgeted. A future challenge could be commercialising the new systems with help from fan feedback and showcasing this to potential stakeholders, he envisages. The most challenging part of implementing any technological innovation, however, is not integration or budgets. It is garnering the support of stakeholders, remarks Malek Dougan, UAE Pro League Marketing & Commercial Affairs Director.
Fancy being a Pro League player? Last month, in collaboration with EA SPORTS, the UAE Pro League launched the second edition of the e-UAEPL competition for 2021-2022. The winner will represent the UAE Pro League at the EA SPORTS FIFA 22 Global Playoffs. The launch signifies the league’s aspiration to offer gaming enthusiasts an opportunity to participate in regional and global competitions. The event will stream on the official UAE Pro League Twitch and YouTube channels, AD gaming platform, Zawaya Gaming and Divine, as well as local broadcasts.
“A sound technical team can make miracles happen. The Super Cup was less about budget and more about showcasing the expertise of the team members with the advanced technology adopted. It is the hours of work put in by the team which has been the biggest investment by the company,” he says. There is no doubt the goalpost is continually shifting when it comes to the use of technology in sports broadcast. But the UAE Pro League has its sights firmly fixed on wherever the ball rolls, and this year’s Super Cup is only a glimpse of the future of tech in UAE football. PRO
Some of the footage was cropped to suit the 9:16 vertical format.
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PROANTIPIRACY
THE CRYSTAL BALL AND CAMEL TRAIL LEADING TO INCREASED SPORTS STREAMING PIRACY Cashing in on the thrills of watching trained race camels mounted with robotic jockeys galloping at 70km/h and the spills of F1 cars hurtling around a track, video pirate sports cheats are stripping the sports media ecosystem of an eye-watering $28bn per year. It’s time to show piracy the red card, says Simon Brydon
Sports piracy isn’t just a big problem for the MENA region, it’s a global phenomenon. And, as our extensive survey of sports streaming piracy conducted by Ampere Analysis shows, fans continue to give piracy a sporting chance. Across MENA and other global markets, a whopping 84% of respondents are watching sport illegally – a mere 16% have never tuned in to a pirate service. Adding insult to injury, while 89% of sports fans have a pay-TV or subscription OTT service, 51% still watch pirate sports services at least once a month. Synamedia’s latest report uncovers which sports trigger fans to seek out an illicit source around the world, with some surprising links and connections. It’s not always a desire to watch the highest-profile events that first leads viewers to illegal content, and unexpected combinations of sport drive fans’ illicit viewing: 50% of illegal consumers triggered by camel racing in the MENA region go on to watch the football World Cup illegally. The ‘Pirate Gateways: Assessing the sports most impacted by piracy’ report examines the prevalence of individual sports in illegal consumption patterns. For rights holders, broadcasters and platform owners, understanding the route into illicit sport viewing plays a vital part in helping stop pirate viewing before it starts.
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Live sports: the premium piracy jewel Piracy has been part of the video scene for a long time, but streaming piracy is the new ball game, with live sports at the top of the pirate league. What was once a cottage industry of small-time operators has grown into a complex, multi-layered pirate ecosystem of suppliers, distributors and resellers. Pirates steal content by any means, often by hacking legitimate services. With no geo-restrictions, competition law constraints or content acquisition costs, pirate streaming services are the ultimate media super-aggregators, offering everything a viewer could want at an unbeatable price. When it comes to reaching new audiences, social networks – including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and many others – provide a ready-made platform for pirates to promote and peddle their wares. And because they use familiar brands in their marketing, many users who sign up think they are getting a bargain and remain oblivious that these are pirate services. Gateway to piracy A gateway sport is the sporting event that triggers a fan to seek out an illegal streaming service. From boxing to camel racing, martial arts to motorsports, it’s a surprisingly diverse picture. Not surprisingly, given its global popularity, nearly half (48%) of fans globally admitting to watching illegal sports streaming
PROANTIPIRACY
point that no legal service could ever come close to rivalling.
concede that a football match first led them to seek out a pirate source. The major European soccer leagues – the Premier League, the Bundesliga and Serie A – all feature as major gateway sports in their home markets. In the MENA region, a significantly higher proportion of pirate-viewing fans (84%) say football was their gateway to illicit viewing but, interestingly, rather than each season’s league football, the World Cup is by far the biggest piracy trigger. The camel train to increasing piracy Crucially, whether the gateway sport is camel racing or football, once a consumer has tuned into piracy they are exposed to a vast range of sports. When they are on the ball about how to source illegal content, particularly through social media, that first piracy trigger inevitably becomes a piracy habit, often a top-up alongside their primary pay-TV service. Fans who enjoy more niche or less popular sports, particularly overseas leagues, are significantly more likely to use pirate providers and consume a broader range of illicit content. For example, MENA viewers most interested in camel racing are more likely to watch the World Cup illegally than fans who say they like football best, and fans of Formula 1 are disproportionately more likely to go on to watch the US Open illegally.
“Tackling streaming piracy requires both protective and proactive approaches and solutions to deter, disrupt and demotivate pirates at every point along the video distribution chain” Simon Brydon, Senior Director of Security Business Development, Synamedia thwart anti-piracy initiatives. Streaming makes it simple and cheap to steal, aggregate, sell and deliver content illegally, rubbing salt into the wounds of broadcasters who face spiralling costs buying content and making it available on a range of devices. As a get-rich-quick criminal enterprise, piracy is proving to be a winning business model. By stealing content, a superaggregated illegal pirate service can offer premium live sports content at a price
Piracy as a service takes off PaaS (piracy as a service) is the new acronym on the block, lining up alongside pirate suspects including apps, cyberlockers and torrent sites. Because PaaS is based on off-the-shelf white-label technology, it is easy for pirates to set up an illegal operation offering access to streaming sites; a content management system with access to almost limitless live sports events, movies and linear channels; and payment and hosting providers who are not compliant with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). There is a growing trend of virtual hosting providers offering pirate platforms installed as a service, ready to go. Blatantly promoting non-DMCA compliance as part of their marketing strategy, a working pirate service can be up and running at the click of a button, and designed to automatically scale and support live sports events with heavy traffic. Even though advertisers and major brands are undermining the pirate advertising model by tackling the issue of advertising on illegal web pirate services, PaaS and the growth of IPTV super-aggregated piracy will only continue to grow.
Raising the stakes in 2022 A crystal ball is not required to predict that streaming pirates will continue seeking to innovate and
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PROANTIPIRACY
UK Boxing Germany Soccer leagues USA American Football Basketball
India Cricket
Italy Soccer leagues
Malaysia Badminton Soccer leagues MENA World Cup Brazil Soccer leagues
Pirate gateways: Assessing the triggers for sports piracy - Synamedia Ampere Report map Pirating the service A sure-fire way to improve business margins is to have someone else foot the bill; that is exactly the game streaming pirates are playing. Ruthlessly exploiting vulnerabilities in the OTT protocol, pirates are hacking and stealing entire OTT services while the legal OTT service provider meets the costs of delivering the pirated content to the viewer. As any criminal hacker will tell you, DRM (digital rights management) and concurrency limits are insufficient, because pirates can steal content directly from the content delivery network (CDN) by getting the DRM licence and redirecting pirate clients to the legitimate service. DRM is a solution for rights management but not an end-to-end anti-piracy solution between the streaming platform and the subscriber. To securely distribute content on open platforms, it’s critical that only legitimate subscribers and applications be granted authorised access and receive content. Showing piracy the red card Any sport can become a gateway to the world of illegal content
streaming for curious viewers. Regardless of which initially trigger piracy consumption and which fans go on to watch illicitly, a combination of legal and social consequences, plus the practical fear of a stream cutting out mid-game, are most likely to deter fans from watching illegal sources. Rights holders can do their bit by requiring video service providers to put in place better streaming security by, for example, mandating watermarking in licensee contracts. But as most content is not exclusive to a particular provider, everyone – CDN and cloud service providers, ISPs, payment providers, chip manufacturers, antipiracy tool vendors, rights owners, streaming providers and legislators – needs to play ball and cooperate to combat and outwit the pirates. Legal teams can muscle in by using blocking injunctions and take-down notices. As well as progress taking down illegal streams on YouTube and Facebook, new techniques such as dynamic IP blocking are also playing a growing role. From a technology standpoint, tackling streaming piracy requires both protective and proactive approaches and solutions to deter, disrupt and demotivate pirates at every point along the video distribution chain. This requires an intelligencebased model, leveraging AI technologies
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alongside human intelligence – including undercover investigators and cyber security, psychology, criminology and sociology experts – and round-the-clock monitoring to gather the evidence needed to orchestrate anti-piracy activities and legal and technical takedowns. Working together with the right steps in place, the industry can stop criminals siphoning off billions and protect its revenue streams. And by tempting sports fans back to legitimate services with an appealing mix of access and payment models designed to reduce their reliance on pirate streams, providers can do their bit to encourage fair play. PRO
Simon Brydon is Senior Director of Security Business Development at Synamedia.
PROOTT
TAKING THE OTT BULL BY ITS HORNS Since its launch in 2018, Zee Entertainment’s OTT platform Zee5 has evolved from carrying a library of existing content to adding powerful Originals spanning short films, feature films and web series to its portfolio. In Q4 2021, Zee5’s monthly active users (MAU) were at 101.9m across India and global markets, with the platform attracting more and more South Asians. Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer of Zee5 Global, shares strategies to take the platform further in 2022 with Sarah Nathan
How has 2021 been for Zee5 Global? 2021 has been a high-growth year for us. The biggest highlight of the year was our much-awaited launch in the US which, with 5.4m South Asians, is the biggest international market yet. We launched Zee5 in the US on June 22, 2021 with a mega event featuring Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the chief guest for the evening, and we had more than 10,000 people attending the event in the country and across the globe. We have grown exponentially since then, with the US emerging as the
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largest international revenue market driving more than 40% of our revenue. As the only stand-alone streaming platform for South Asian content, viewers have seen significant consumer benefit in the rich content library we have and that’s a very positive trend. Like in other markets, apart from Hindi content we are also seeing significant traction in content consumption in languages like Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi. Apart from the US, we’ve also seen strong growth during the year across our other markets, especially in the UK, UAE and key markets across APAC.
PROOTT
36 Farmhouse is a 2022 Hindilanguage comedy-drama film, written by Subhash Ghai and directed by Ram Ramesh Sharma.
You have said that viewership and subscriptions increased during the pandemic in 2020. Has this continued across all demographics? Could you share some exclusive numbers with us? Yes, we have seen a continued growth trend in content consumption in 2021 and across demographics. Over 70% of our audiences are in the 18-35 age group and they continue to drive strong content consumption across languages. Year on year, our viewership is up by 20-25% and that’s a strong trend. Globally, nearly 50% of our content consumption is in Hindi. We have seen a significant uptick in our regional language content consumption, especially across Tamil and Telugu as well as Bengali and Marathi. Malayalam content has done especially well in the Middle East, driving more than 20% of content consumption in the market. Overall, our viewership in the Middle East has grown by 42% in 2021 and subscriptions are up by 30% as compared to 2020. With the Sony-Zee merger, what changes do you foresee at Zee5? It’s too early to comment on this. However, we do see a lot of content synergies, with some complementary genres of content being possibly added to enhance our content offering.
Mukti is a ZEE5 Original drama series about a team of prisoners in Midnapore Jail challenging the British officers to a game of football.
How has progress been with your plans to expand to Canada and Europe? Both Europe and Canada have grown out very well for us in 2021. Both markets have been receptive to good content, and we have seen good uptick across our recent Originals. Hindi content is a key driver across both markets, with Bengali and Telugu and Tamil content also driving significant growth in the UK. In Canada, our recent Punjabi and Tamil content launches have seen significant traction. What are Zee5's goals for 2022? Could you elaborate on your content strategy for the coming year? In 2022, our first and foremost goal is to fortify the leadership position that we have already built in the international market. In the past five months, we've already galloped to the number one position as the world's largest platform for South Asian content and the only
stand-alone platform in the US with such an offering. Driving on this key focus, we have got a strong line-up of content in the coming year with digital premieres, blockbuster titles, originals and more across languages, with some key partnerships in place including TVF and Applause. Over the last year, we have seen strong engagement in specific language cohorts and we see that as being pivotal to our growth, so we are especially building out a strong library catering to the Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil and Bengali audiences. With the trend of people globally appreciating good production values and storylines, we are also making our content easily accessible through subtitling our content in English. We have also clearly identified the markets we want to focus on this year. Beyond the US, we have a lot of plans lined up for the UK, the UAE and Australia markets. We are set to aggressively build on our leadership position in these markets in the months ahead. Traditionally, Zee5 has worked with a library of Indian content. Any plans to adopt international drama series for an Indian audience or secure content from other markets for the Indian market? We are currently focused on South Asian content, i.e. content from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Having said that, we have premiered Black Widows, an Indian adaptation of the Finnish drama of the same name, which was well received by South
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PROOTT
Zee5 has a vast library of South Asian content and currently sees the US as its largest international market, driving more than 40% of its revenue.
Asian audiences. We also expanded our repertoire of Indian adaptations of European dramas with a film titled Aafat-e-Ishq, an Indian adaptation of the award-winning international Hungarian film Liza, the Fox-Fairy. As we grow our audience base, we will look to add more content from other markets. We have also just announced the second edition of the Zee5 Global Content Festival, to give independent filmmakers and content creators across the world a platform on which they can showcase their content to the globe and that will also add in content from other countries. Technology-wise, have you planned any upgrades to offer viewers a better experience, better recommendation and personalisation? Zee5 is deeply cognisant of the need to constantly improve our product and consumer experience. Recently, we inaugurated a Technology Center in Bangalore to ensure that our products are best-in-class and that we can match up with the best, so you will see a lot rolling out in 2022.
“We expect to be seeing much more by way of gaming and gamification in 2022, as direct-to-consumer brands will look to leverage technology to drive deeper engagement with audiences” Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global
What are your observations on gender issues at the workplace, and how have you tried to ensure more inclusive policies at Zee5? I think the media, more than any other industry, is less prone to bias and has a lot of women in the workforce. At Zee, we have and nurture a sizeable women-led workforce. Leena Nair and Geeta Gopinath are fantastic examples of women in leadership positions doing tremendously well; however, women in leadership positions are certainly not as much as one would like to see. The skew is fast changing, but it is one that we would still hope would change even faster.
one can’t rest on one’s laurels. Cracking the formula of good content, which means having the ability to discover good content at the script stage and nurture it, is hugely pertinent to our success. The other challenge is chasing South Asian audiences among the mainstream audience and keeping them engaged, and we have been finding various ways and means to do this. Because in most markets South Asians are a niche audience with just 2-5% strength, it’s always been a challenge to find them and advertise to them. To this end, we’ve undertaken several partnerships across countries. In the US, we have partnered with NAAIS (North American Association of Indian Students) to establish deeper connections with students across the US. In the UAE, we have partnered with Lulu for multiple on-ground initiatives to reach the South Asian diaspora. We have had similar partnerships across all our key countries.
What are some of the challenges you foresee for Zee5, and how are you looking to address them? OTT is a competitive space, and
What trends do you foresee in the streaming business, regionally and globally? The trends that we foresee are the
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absolute blurring of borders regarding language content. People are willing to watch great stories regardless of language, provided they can comprehend them. Stories have stopped being confined to the language of origin or the language audience they cater to. Audiences across the world are deeply appreciative of great storytelling, and this is an ongoing trend we have been seeing on Zee5 as well and that we want to build on. Secondly, we have seen a much higher appetite for SVOD where audiences are now willing to pay to subscribe for content. There has been a direct correlation to the amount of consumption that happens, especially during the lockdown, and we have been catering to that increased demand through easier access to our content, offers, etc. Australia and Singapore are two cases in point where we’ve seen a significant uptick in subscriptions and consumption during periods of lockdown. We also expect to be seeing much more by way of gaming and gamification in 2022, as directto-consumer brands will look to leverage technology to drive deeper engagement with audiences. Are there plans to partner with other streaming apps and consolidate efforts for the greater good of the audience? Zee5 provides viewers with such a comprehensive offering in itself, with 170,000+ hours of content being available at the viewers’ fingertips across a variety of languages and genres. While we have multiple key content partnerships, we have not as such looked into partnering with other streaming platforms. We have upped our content offering by joining hands with The Viral Fever (TVF), a digital entertainment network, and production houses like Applause Entertainment. PRO
PROSPORT
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PROSPORT
KEEPING THE
STAKES HIGH
When Saudi Sports Company (SSC) wanted an innovative production and broadcast solution to take some of its less exposed events to air, it turned to a cloud-based set-up. In cooperation with Audio Video Consulting LLC Dubai (AVC), helmed by CEO Peter Van Dam, it created a full cloud-based production workflow based on Grass Valley’s Agile Media Processing Platform (GV AMPP) SSC is a young but powerful entity founded in 2021 as part of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, and is the exclusive owner of the TV rights for events including the Saudi Professional League, King’s Cup and Saudi Super Cup. Its main aim is to create multiple sports channels across all available entertainment platforms in KSA. Besides the most popular Saudi football leagues, SSC also focuses on other sport in the Kingdom and international leagues such as the AFC, F1, Formula E, the NFL and Extreme E. With SSC keen on creating tier-2 and tier-3 sports productions, COO Christian Peer was scouting for costeffective, easy-to-deploy broadcast solutions that also ensured high-quality productions. Van Dam, who has been running his own consultancy and service company since 2018, was called in to offer recommendations. A broadcast veteran – most recently CTO at Al Alamiya, a major Saudi production house primarily in live events – Van Dam was previously in the UAE, where he tested cloud playout in Abu Dhabi Media a few years ago and a cloud-based archive solution last year, in addition to some other cloud projects. He had already navigated some of the typical challenges of working in a cloud environment and was ready for a new challenge. For what SSC mandated, Van Dam recommended a cloudbased solution because these “[offer] remarkable flexibility, enable fast deployment and allow for cost savings”. He also knew a typical 30-camera set-up with several outside broadcast (OB) vehicles was not commercially viable for producing lowexposure sports such as basketball, volleyball and handball. The solution was to use a combination of AI, robotic and shoulder-mounted cameras to create costeffective but dynamic coverage. He turned to Grass Valley’s AMPP cloud solution to control and produce
these productions, and within the same platform distribution and playout were also made possible. “In the market, there are several all-in-one solutions. This works for some productions, where for instance a person is making a YouTube channel,” Van Dam says. “But it does not work if there are other complexities. Communication, latency and responsiveness are crucial when starting to work with multiple persons in one production.” “So when you are creating multiple channels that involve graphics, audio, playout, commentary and so on, you want a platform that provides you with maximum flexibility in cloud productions, and that’s what the Grass Valley AMPP did. It gives a new dimension to cloud productions with all options available, including video and audio mixer, graphics, clip player and replay, remote commentary, ingest, MAM and playout, as well as distribution.” The typical production set-up for basketball, volleyball and handball on-site is pretty limited. A team uses an iQ producer camera from Mobile Viewpoint that gives four feeds out – one AI and three fixed feeds positioned in advance by the director. “We use two robotic cameras and two shoulder-mounted cameras. For a production like this, they typically have two tech people and two cameramen on-site. Each of these individual elements are connected to the cloud.” To bring signals into the production environment, GV AMPP Edge, SRT and NDI standards are used. All processing and signal flows are handled in the cloud. GV AMPP via HTML 5 also ensures the remote control of all production elements such as the video and audio mixer, clip and slomo player, graphics engine, router panels and virtual intercom panels. A combination of touchscreens, video and audio remote panels makes it possible for the production team to easily adapt to the new type of production services.
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PROSPORT On behalf of SSC, AVC provided all the technical services in LA for the Super Bowl. Top right: AVC Senior Support Engineer Hans Deschacht with Peter Van Dam, CEO of AVC.
Within GV AMPP, a remote commentary function is available, in addition to standard programme and commentary panel functions. The team also now has a secondary monitor for any available signals from incoming feeds to studio cameras or graphics. All of this takes place using the same HTML 5 connection. The team maximises the potential of the cloud-based solution, which enables distribution to various streaming sites through Wildmoka, including YouTube and other platforms such as MBC, adds Van Dam. SSC also secured the rights to Super Bowl 56. The AVC team was in Los Angeles on behalf of SSC to complete the Arabic production of the games. Essentially, AVC Media cloud and GV AMPP served as the core of the full cloud set-up, along with LiveU. GV AMPP Edge and LiveU were used to deliver on-site signals to AMPP. To broadcast the games, SRT streams from Eurovision were taken and transferred to GV AMPP. This included all pre-shows, standups, edits and distribution on-site in Los Angeles. “We produced for SSC a daily, multi-camera live segment for the
programme on SSC 1, and on the day of the Super Bowl we produced three programmes of 25 minutes and the fourhour game included on-site commentary from reporters. The live broadcast was produced from the commentary booth inside the LA Sofi Stadium. Two on-site SSC commentators with live interventions from fan zone using LiveU were added,” explains Van Dam. “We had a world feed, two dedicated ISO feeds and a commentary camera on-site through the GV AMPP Edge. Back-up world and ISO feeds were provided by Eurovision over SRT. The full live feed, video and audio mixing, clip and promo inserts, music and graphics
GV AMPP Edge and LiveU were used to deliver on-site signals to AMPP.
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were provided through AVC Media Cloud and the GV AMPP cloud platform. The final programme was distributed to MBC, SSC archives and Wildmoka via SRT. As NFL Super Bowl is the biggest sports event in the US, we were so proud to be the only Middle East company on-site, working on behalf of SSC.” He points out that the main differences between the GV AMPP and alternative solutions are “responsiveness, low latency, high flexibility and scalability, as well as cost efficiency”. “This is the only cloudbased platform in my opinion that currently offers the capability to create broadcast production workflows similar to what is used on-prem.” Although the set-up is currently supported by AWS Ireland, Van Dam is confident that in the near future the platform will be hosted in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia. “With GV AMPP, SSC can now create high-quality content and provide the required exposure to several sports and events in the Kingdom that thus far have had limited coverage due to budget restrictions or the lack of technical resources.” An added advantage has been the presence of a local media fibre network. “In Saudi Arabia, we have a 3GB internet capacity within
PROSPORT
the SSC MPLS media network.” Van Dam and SSC worked with Yousef H. Mugharbil of Dawiyat Telecommunication Company during the Covid-19 lockdown to create the Media Network, “a redundant 10G MPLS network that gives connectivity to the SSC’s main broadcast and distribution hubs and high-bandwidth internet”. This is the foundation for contribution, remote production, cloud services, production and distribution, successfully supporting SSC’s broadcasts to multiple platforms simultaneously. “Today, up to 29 of the main sports venues have been connected via this 10G MPLS network. It is the backbone of this expansion strategy and serves the end viewer with a wide range of local and international content while we can control all productions and operations remotely,” Van Dam explains. Saudi Arabia has been working quickly to secure the rights of national and international sports events, with the 2030
“This is the only cloudbased platform in my opinion that currently offers the capability to create broadcast production workflows similar to what is used on-prem” Peter Van Dam, CEO, Audio Video Consulting LLC Dubai (AVC) vision and future events centred around sports and culture. “Stakeholders are exploring alternative ways of content production, and cloudbased solutions seem ideal to scale up or scale down services on the fly. In this case, the Grass Valley AMPP cloud-based playout platform supports this objective most favourably and is ideal for creating scalable services.” In time, Van Dam hopes to create three feeds for some games – a national feed and one for each team – each with its own commentary, ads and YouTube channel. “The next phase would be to give the clubs the possibility to do the playout
for each of their channels, so each have their own YouTube channels with reruns and live matches if the team plays home or away.” With GV AMPP, AVC not only serves SSC but also provides remote commentary services for the Olympic channel and the International Jumping Federation, among others. “There are several events taking place worldwide with realtime remote multi-language translations. A multi-camera set-up with remote control operations minimises the on-site space required for a technical set-up. Typically, such services that provide a cloud archive, media management services and distribution were limited to major broadcast houses. But cloud is a great leveller, bringing media archive and management within reach of companies that have media content and want to secure this, and make it available for distribution and commercial use,” concludes Van Dam. PRO
GV AMPP via HTML 5 ensures the remote control of all production elements such as the video and audio mixer, clip and slomo player, graphics engine, router panels and virtual intercom panels.
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PROPRODUCTS
Delkin Devices boosts memory with 8K lineup
Delkin Devices has added CFexpress Type A memory cards that support UHD 8K recording to its line-up of memory-based products. The latest high-speed memory card format, they boast recording speeds reaching 790MB/s for cinema-quality video capture, including UHD 8K at 30fps (400Mbps) in the Sony a1 camera. They also support RAW continuousburst shooting without delay.
The cards can offload data at up to 880MB/s, enabling quick data transfer from card to computer for immediate file access and sooner postproduction start time. Each card has undergone testing to ensure full functionality and performance in today’s highend cinematic hosts, including the Sony a1, a7S III, a7 IV, FX3 and FX6, Delkin reported. www.delkin.com
Vislink leads AI-powered sports with Stellar Cam Vislink has launched the Mobile Viewpoint Stellar Cam, an AI-powered camera for live sports production. Designed for automatic coverage of demanding sports, the new weatherproofed camera offers ultra-high resolution, high frame rates and zooming capabilities to capture the action in real time on the field of play. It is available at a price point close to the original surveillance camera, but with more features and enhanced quality, including support for 50/60 frames per second for live event broadcast. Mickey Miller, CEO of Vislink, said: “Stellar Cam, brought to market by our Mobile Viewpoint brand, is a key component of IQ Sports Producer, our platform for capturing live sporting events
without the need for on-site staff.” A single panoramic camera captures the whole pitch, arena or track in high resolution. AI is used to create a virtual camera that tracks the action of the ball and the players, creating a software cut-out of the action from the panoramic view. www.vislink.com
AJA launches Io X3 Thunderbolt 3 video I/O device
AJA Video Systems has launched Io X3, a Thunderbolt 3-connected professional video and audio I/O device that offers HDR or SDR 2K/HD capture and output via 3G-SDI and HDMI. It streamlines highquality HDR I/O up to 2K/HD 60p on compatible Thunderbolt
3-equipped Mac or PC hosts running professional video and audio applications. Designed for remote, on-set and studio operations, Io X3 provides a mobile solution for single-, dual- and multichannel SDI workflows, offering pristine 2K/HD/SD I/O with HDR
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directly from any modern laptop or computer. It is an output device for a range of production environments, including high-end colour grading, audio mixing, on-set monitoring or playback, and remote editorial and VFX. With four independent inputs for workflows with
OBS and Wirecast, together with simultaneous MultiView monitoring for each source, Io X3 claims to be a suitable fit for streaming workflows. Io X3 features eight switchable analogue audio ports, allowing users to shift between eight channels in or out, or split connectivity between four inputs and four outputs, in addition to a 3.5 analogue audio connection to plug in headphones directly. Up to 16-channel audio is included on each SDI port, and eight channels on HDMI. Compact and rackmountable, Io X3 devices can be placed side by side in a rack for studio, mobile truck or video assist needs, allowing users to benefit from up to eight channels of up to 2K/HD/SD I/O in a 1RU. www.aja.com
PROPRODUCTS
Sports broadcast gets a boost with Ross XPression Tessera One Ross Video has released XPression Tessera One, a new all-in-one solution that provides over 6m broadcast-quality pixels to drive engaging content to venue LED displays and video walls in news studios. Building on the success of XPression Tessera, it is a complete LED content management system that features customisable XPression graphic templates and dashboard control panels with a simple and intuitive control interface that anyone can use. For sporting events, customers can either choose to create their own graphics or take advantage of Tessera One’s library of pre-built, customisable graphics templates for baseball, basketball, American football, ice hockey and soccer. Either
way, Tessera One helps customers produce dynamic, data-driven content that will engage fans and generate new revenue through enhanced sponsorship opportunities. Tessera One is a simple, compact, affordable and powerful system. Its slimline 1RU chassis delivers up to three 1080P HD outputs, which
can be mapped to fill over 6m LED pixels. It also uses lowlatency video input processing of three frames latency. This means a video input signal passed through Tessera One with graphics composited over it will not distract the fans in the stands. What they see on-screen will appear at the same time as it does on the
playing surface or stage. From showing live event video with scoring, to driving ribbon boards, to additional fan engagement auxiliary displays, Tessera One delivers the same feature set as a traditional Tessera system in an all-inone cost-effective solution. www.rossvideo.com
Dream Chip focuses on AtomOne Mini Zoom The new AtomOne Mini Zoom miniature camera from Dream Chip supports resolutions up to 1080p60. With dimensions of 60x80mm and a weight of only 267g, it works on a rolling shutter basis with a 1/2.5” sensor. With zoom functionality, the camera can be more effective when shooting in unusual locations or capturing a creative shot. The base aperture stands at F1.6 - 2.9mm, providing for a wide-angle 130° shot and allowing the frame to be reduced to a 66° angle shot at 9mm. Its size makes it well-suited for shooting from locations where a larger camera might be intrusive or interfere with a shot, the company said.
Production teams can maintain full creative control over all elements of the shot, as the AtomOne Mini Zoom maintains full iris control on a remote basis and can be colourmatched with other cameras
in the production set-up using multi-matrix colour support. The new camera’s housing is robust and removes points of connection, to reduce the risk of connection fatigue or failure – an important design feature since
the size of the camera makes it well-suited for challenging conditions where there is a risk of impact or vibration. According to Dream Chip, the decision to add a zoom functionality product to the already extensive AtomOne range, which includes superslow motion and underwater models, comes from the success of the original product and recognition that enhancements will further extend its range of applications. It has partnered with Bradley Remote to add the potential for pan-tilt functionality, making the AtomOne Mini Zoom one of the smallest PTZ cameras on the market. www.dreamchip.de
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PROGUEST
“By truly understanding what your viewers’ passions are and developing compelling offerings for each of those communities, you will garner views, trust and loyalty”
How to stand out in a contentsaturated market The debate as to whether the world of broadcast is heading towards saturation has raged on for some time now. Will we ever get to the point where content producers meet the demands of all viewers? In my opinion, there’s not a chance – there are too many viewers to consider, too many evolving trends and demand for content will never cease to exist. Whether we’ll ever get to the point of true saturation is somewhat irrelevant, however; the fact is that competition for viewership has never been greater. Producers of content in all its forms are competing for both viewers’ finite time and budgets, if we are to consider subscription-based content. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It helps to keep content companies on their toes. Most importantly, it ensures they’re delivering content that truly resonates with their audiences, which is the secret ingredient to breaking through a saturated market. Stick to what you’re good at To stand out, content companies and producers must first define their consumer proposition and be bold about it. That means owning the lane in real-life entertainment, but fundamentally it’s about having the confidence in knowing what your audience wants and not being tempted into veering off course. Sticking to what you’re good at doesn’t mean regurgitating content
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that perhaps once worked well. It’s about knowing when to enhance and evolve. Adapting an international format, for instance, and adding the flavour of Arabic culture and celebrating it sometimes helps establish a greater rapport with viewers in the MENA region. Consistency is key Standing out doesn’t have to equate to being shocking. Content such as Squid Game can take the world by storm for a short period of time, but to sustain your position in standing out in the market you must be consistent. By truly understanding what your viewers’ passions are and developing compelling offerings for each of those communities, you will garner views, trust and loyalty. Audiences often turn to entertainment to seek comfort, solutions and inspiration. Brands that can offer that differentiation and reliability in a cluttered and crowded space and can offer reassurance will help create a loyal audience base. Accessibility and IP Quite simply, you can’t stand out if your content cannot be seen readily. In a crowded environment, the key is owning your IP so you can run it multi-screen and own all the rights. Instead of renting content, you can make your own by making sure that content is available on demand whenever and wherever the audience wants it.
Audiences want to be able to access content on their own terms nowadays, and you need to be nimble and bold if you don’t want to get left behind. Powerful partnerships Standing out doesn’t mean doing it alone. There’s power in coming together with the right partners, as we have done in this market with StarzPlay and Intigral. It’s imperative to collaborate with relevant local companies who have an innate and unrivalled understanding of the regional market as natives. The right partnerships allow you to introduce your content while gaining instantaneous solid brand awareness and invaluable consumer insights that become essential to your success. The increasingly content-saturated market is a testament to the demand for tailor-made content. This is both a challenge and an opportunity that can be maximised with the right strategies. Conserving and evolving our best practices, staying consistent, improving content accessibility and partnering with key market players – all boil down to a consumer-first approach. Trends, viewing appetite and competitions are ever-changing, but producing content with genuine resonance with the audience will remain the secret ingredient to cutting through any saturation. Francesco Perta is Senior Business Development and Distribution Director, MEA, Turkey and Northeast Europe, Discovery Inc.
REMOTE PRODUCTION & IP CONTRIBUTION
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