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DISCOP’s co-production salon at CABSAT a major draw for Arabic content market
DISCOP will be co-located with CABSAT this year, as part of a new arrangement between the two entities at the Dubai World Trade Centre from May 17-19. A special co-production area dedicated to Arabic content and Arabic coproductions, curated by Heba Korayem, Content Market and Distribution Specialist at HConsult, is gaining increasing traction in the industry, with close to 100 investors and buyers for Arabic content now confirmed. Korayem is confident that she will see 20 additional investors and buyers join each week until the event begins.
“So far, we have 25 requests from Arabic production houses to participate within the coproduction salon, and each of them have around two to five pitch decks. These are ready-to-produce stories with casting, talent, location et al sorted and ready to be picked up, adapted and produced,” Korayem told BroadcastPro ME.
“The co-production salon gives them an opportunity to showcase their pitches to production partners, and based on how attractive their pitch is, they would look at four primary partnership models -- commissioning, co-production, co-funding or independent investing for the purpose of ROI through distribution. We have Arab production houses from Egypt, Lebanon, the UAE, Morocco, Libya, KSA, Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Algeria pitching at the salon, and the pitches will include drama series, animations, feature films and international format adaptations.”
Roya TV from Jordan, Dubai’s S Productions, Cedars Art, Eagle Films, Pixitoon and Bright Lens Media from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia are some of the participating companies. Some have co-productions to pitch as well as plans to invest in third-party productions. UAE-based S Productions, which specialises in format adaptations, will be on the look-out for international partnerships to localise and adapt formats for the region.
Interestingly, Majid Al Futtaim, a large Dubai-based conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of businesses and the owner of Vox Cinemas, will also participate, with the intention of partnering with producers on the creative side and developing its own in-house productions for distribution, as well as investing in productions.
Several buyers have also signed up to attend the event, including Saudi broadcaster SBC and international entities such as Disney, who are looking to penetrate the region and scouting for local production partners to commission for their originals, Korayem said.
“Essentially, you will see regional streamers looking to commission the development of more Arabic originals, participants who have taken a paid slot to showcase their projects and buyers who are shopping for new productions. HConsult is playing matchmaker and will bring these entities together. Our survey revealed that 70% of buyers attending the DISCOP Content Market are looking for Arabic-language content. The other top languages in demand are Western/European, Turkish, Hindi and Spanish. With the content market growing in this region, this coproduction salon is dedicated to Arabic productions.”
The DISCOP segment at CABSAT will include a screening room, where some of the pitches will take place.
Heba Korayem is running the co-production salon for DISCOP at CABSAT.
US $300m
Estimated production value of Arabic mosalsalat released during Ramadan 2022 on linear and OTT platforms
Source: HConsult MENA content market tracker
MAP transitions to IP with Lawo kit
Moroccan state-owned news agency Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP) has completed its transition to IP with the installation of Lawo broadcast equipment at its radio production studios. Three radio studios and two TV studios have been upgraded to IP solutions.
MAP selected Lawo because its IP audio mixers allow operators to access all audio sources available on the network, especially since MAP has international programmes in Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Tamazight. The project was handled by Lawo’s Moroccan partner LTS Network, based in Casablanca.
Hassan Eddahbi, CEO of MAO, said: “The radio architecture comprises two control rooms, two small studios and another large studio that accommodates multiple guests. Lawo’s sophisticated radio AoIP solution enables fast operation and an easy working environment for talent.”
“The ruby consoles in both control rooms have proven their effectiveness and audio quality, and their workflow is more intuitive and less involved than competitors’ offerings. The consoles allow you to quickly switch between the different control rooms and choose the desired environments in record time, whether broadcasting live or recording for later use. They also make it possible to host all three studios at the same time during a single broadcast.”
In addition to the Ruby mixing consoles, MAP’s radio studios are fitted with Lawo Power Core DSP mixing engines and I/O nodes. These integrate the studios with adjacent voice booths, called studettes; the set-up interlinks the studios and studettes with MAP’s large Grand Studio with just the push of a button.
Eddahbi continued: “The project’s requirements were quite challenging. New technical solutions and customerdefined workflows needed to be matched and fully integrated into the overall network. MAP, LTS and Lawo collaborated closely and we successfully established a future-proof IP infrastructure for our customer.”
MAP’s radio studios are fitted with Lawo Power Core DSP mixing engines.
Jobin Joejoe helms Sony MEA as Deputy MD
Jobin Joejoe will lead Sony MEA's operations as Deputy MD. In his new role, Joejoe will be responsible for accelerating business performance to achieve sustainable growth, profitability and value for all stakeholders. He takes over from Takakiyo Fujita, who has relocated to Singapore as Managing Director, Sony AMEA. On April 1, Sony’s MEA and Southeast Asia operations were merged to form Sony Asia AMEA.
Thomson Broadcast to acquire GatesAir
Thomson Broadcast has signed a definitive agreement to acquire GatesAir from an affiliate of The Gores Group, which acquired the Harris transmission business in 2012 and rebranded it as GatesAir. The transaction is subject to certain regulatory filings and is expected to close in the second half of 2022. Details were not disclosed. The combination of GatesAir with Thomson Broadcast is expected to create a scaled, comprehensive platform with greater capabilities in innovation, design and product efficiency.
Gravity Media partners with 7 Production for 2022 World Cup
Gravity Media and 7 Production will provide outside broadcast facilities for rights and non-rights holders at the World Cup, which is taking place November 21 to December 18, 2022 in Qatar. Both companies will offer 4K and HD truck-based facilities, including Gravity Media’s six-camera HD OB vehicle with DSNG capability, as well as international and local crew. The Gravity Media team can also work closely on all projects from its Doha office.
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The new URSA Broadcast features incredible low light performance so you can The new URSA Broadcast features incredible low light performance so you can shoot using ambient light or even under moonlight! The Blackmagic URSA shoot using ambient light or even under moonlight! The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 features gain from -12dB (100 ISO) up to +36dB (25,600 ISO) Broadcast G2 features gain from -12dB (100 ISO) up to +36dB (25,600 ISO) so it’s optimized to reduce grain and noise in images, while maintaining the full so it’s optimized to reduce grain and noise in images, while maintaining the full dynamic range of the sensor. dynamic range of the sensor.
Blackmagic Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2 US$4,395
Twofour54 announces wide range of virtual solutions for productions
Twofour54 is expanding its production facilities through virtual solutions. Launched in partnership with Ross Video, the new offering includes virtual studios, virtual production services and extended reality (XR) features.
Using state-of-the-art cameras, virtual monitors, floating AR elements and customisable virtual sets, twofour54’s virtual solutions will offer a comprehensive service for film, TV and advertisement producers, broadcasters, event organisers and gaming companies. The virtual studios are powered by three of Ross Video’s Voyager graphics platforms, based on the Unreal Engine to provide high-quality photorealistic visuals.
Virtual Studio offers enhanced flexibility, allowing production companies to quickly change a set, deploy a new scene and look, or share a studio space with other businesses without any downtime due to set construction. This reduces the time and cost of production, limits negative environmental impact and allows producers to focus on creating engaging and innovative content.
Complementing the physical virtual studio’s facility, virtual production allows companies to create flexible production teams that can execute a variety of tasks remotely while the talent, news anchor or event host is on set. This service is provided by Ross Video’s cloudenabled remote contribution solution, Interstellar.
Rounding out the virtual solutions, twofour54 will provide a full range of XR services, a new production trend for on-premise production that uses a combination of real and virtual environments and interactions to reduce the cost of production. Available for live or pre-recorded content, twofour54’s XR services feature large-format LED screens that directly replace traditional green screens.
To support production companies looking to capitalise on the new virtual studios, twofour54 partner Rocket Surgery, the creative arm of Ross Video, will be on hand to provide design and creative services. These services will include design consultations with the client, creative project management and a range of graphics packages.
Katrina Anderson, Director of Commercial Services, twofour54, said: “By providing flexible, technology-driven solutions that can create production cost savings as high as 80%, this is what Virtual Studios is set to accomplish, so we are proud to be the first to bring this offering to the region through the end-toend partnership with Ross Video and Rocket Surgery.”
Netflix and AFAC offer $250,000 grant to five Arab female filmmakers
Netflix and Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) have partnered to offer a one-time grant to five Arab female filmmakers and producers, as part of the Netflix Fund for Creative Equity, to enable them to bring their fiction and nonfiction projects to fruition. AFAC already has two grants aiming to support filmmakers in cinema and documentary making.
Launched in early 2021, the initiative aims to create opportunities for underrepresented communities in the entertainment industry and increase the equality of women both on and off screen. The Netflix Fund for Creative Equity in the Arab world, valued at $250,000, will provide financial support.
AFAC Executive Director Rima Mismar added: “More and more Arab women filmmakers are creating moving images that have the power to shed light on the realities of the region. This second collaboration with Netflix complements perfectly AFAC’s mission to promote diversity of voices and narratives.”
The five filmmakers are Asmae El Moudir (Morocco) with the documentary The Mother of All Lies, Diala Kachmar (Lebanon) with From the Other Shore, Jana Wehbe (Lebanon) with The Day Vladimir Died, Tania Khoury (Lebanon) with Manity and Sarra Abidi (Tunisia) with My Name Is Clara.
Etisalat UAE taps Synamedia and 3SS for Switch TV
Etisalat UAE, part of e&, has chosen technologies and services from Synamedia and 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) to add a lean-back TV experience for its DTC streaming service, Switch TV. The service features smart TV apps developed for LG, Samsung and Apple TV.
The smart TV apps entailed integrating 3SS’s front-end solution with technologies from Synamedia. Etisalat uses Synamedia’s Infinite cloud TV platform, security solutions and end-to-end video network portfolio, including private CDN.
Jonathan Haysom, VP of Commercial Products at Etisalat, said: “We saw an opportunity to launch apps on smart TVs and Apple TV when choosing Synamedia and 3SS as our deployment partners, because their expertise in this field is second to none.”
Synamedia and 3SS worked together to develop and integrate the Switch TV ecosystem. It went live earlier this year.
New CEO at OSN
OSN's new CEO Joe Kawkabani has been a board member and a close partner to the leadership team, working on its vision across all divisions. He succeeds Sangeeta Desai, whose term as interim CEO came to an end recently. Kawkabani was previously Group Chief Investment Officer at KIPCO, which owns 87.6% of OSN. Prior to that, he had a 20year run managing investments across diverse industries in the MEA region.
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BeIN chooses Cognacq-Jay Image and Quortex to stream sports content
Cognacq-Jay Image, a service provider in the media industry for playout, headend and digital platforms, in partnership with cloud-native live-streaming platform Quortex, announced that BeIN Media Group has chosen Quortex’s technology to provide streaming services for its MENA sports content.
BeIN will use Quortex’s Just-In-Time solution to stream high-quality sports content to its subscriber base in 24 countries. Through beIN’s OTT platform provided by CognacqJay Image, the solution will run on Microsoft Azure and fully leverage Quortex’s Just-InTime technology, where every kWh is spent for a purpose.
Faisal Al Raisi, Manager of Digital Projects at beIN Media Group, MENA, said: “Our partnership with Quortex and Cognacq-Jay Image contributes to beIN’s longterm objective of ensuring our offering stands the test of time by evolving our headend. This collaboration is also instrumental in delivering the best streaming quality to our subscribers across MENA, especially ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. We are confident that Quortex will deliver this by combining technology and sustainability through its network and bandwidth optimisation.”
Based on the company’s patented Just-In-TimeEverything technology, the Quortex I/O platform builds the workflow based on user demand, not content origination. In this way, it maximises the benefits of live streaming while minimising the risks associated with online event launches to near zero.
François Nguyen, CognacqJay Image Project Director for beIN MENA’s OTT platform, stated: “As a global integrator, we provide our customers with the best-inclass technologies. In a project like this, adding Quortex to the existing ecosystem is a natural fit for us.”
Talpa reality show Million Dollar Island set to debut in Middle East
Dutch production and media company Talpa’s reality survival show Million Dollar Island will now be made for MENA, following its launch in the Netherlands and its acquisition by NBC for the US market. A regional version has been commissioned by MBC Group, and it will be produced in Neom by Talpa’s new partner, Blue Engine Studios. It’s set to air on a yet-to-be-announced MBC Group TV channel, as well as on Shahid VIP.
Million Dollar Island is a format created by John de Mol’s Talpa Concepts and Monday Media and distributed by Talpa Distribution. It is a social experiment where 100 people try to stay on a remote desert island for two months for a chance at winning $1m. Each contestant starts the adventure with a bracelet worth $10,000. It launched on March 6 on SBS6 in the Netherlands, and Amazon Prime has a day-and-date SVOD second window.
Wayne Borg, MD for Media, Entertainment and Culture at Neom, said: “We are excited to be working with Talpa and MBC. Our array of stunning locations is the backdrop for the dedicated facility: largescale sets, workshops and accommodation to support the 200 casts and crew. This is groundbreaking for the region, a production on this scale. It harnesses our offering of studios/stages, equipment inventory and support services at Neom, backed by our international team of industry specialists. Bringing Million Dollar Island to Neom is further proof of the confidence the industry has in our ability to deliver multiple productions seamlessly.”
SRMG opens new HQ in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District
Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG) has opened its new headquarters in the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) of Riyadh. The new headquarters will house the group’s various media platforms and businesses under one roof: Asharq Al-Awsat, and Asharq network, which includes Asharq News and Asharq Business with Bloomberg, Arab News, Independent Arabia, Argaam, Manga Arabia, Sayidaty and Hia magazines. It will also house the group’s businesses – SRMG Media, SRMG X and SRMG Think – establishing a creative media hub at the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD).
The new headquarters in Riyadh marks the beginning of the group’s global expansion, including that of Asharq network and its platforms Asharq News and Asharq Business with Bloomberg, with plans to establish global offices in Washington, DC and Singapore, in addition to its current offices in London and Dubai. The group will also employ top-of-the-line studio technologies with databased capabilities, including social media, podcast and virtual reality studios, and introduce new content offerings such as cultural and scientific documentaries.
SRMG’s new headquarters is in the fourth district at KAFD and will consist of 10 floors to accommodate around 1,200 employees. The interior spaces of the new headquarters, to which the group will gradually move, are designed to encourage cross-collaboration and provide an interactive working environment.
SRMG's new HQ.
MBC Studios begins production of Rose & Layla
MBC Studios, the in-house content production arm of MBC Group, has announced the production of Rose & Layla. The Arabiclanguage series will see Egyptian superstars Yousra and Nelly Karim starring together for the first time. It is penned
by British screenwriter Cris Cole (Mad Dogs) and directed by British film and TV director Adrian Shergold Egyptian icons Yousra (Cordelia). and Nelly Karim. Produced by Maged Mohsen and Safa Aburizik, Rose & Layla is the first series of its kind by MBC Studios, with international distribution to be managed by Till Entertainment. It comprises ten 50-60-minute episodes and will premiere on Shahid VIP in Q4 2022.
Anghami partners with TOD to provide sports and entertainment
The partnership will see a curated selection of TOD’s sports and entertainment programming available on Anghami. This move aims to further diversify Anghami’s vast selection of content and will allow fans to access exclusive beIN Sports audio content on Anghami. This will include major football league match round-ups as well as daily live updates and interviews with premier footballers. Anghami subscribers will also receive a one-month package to TOD Entertainment, with access to the entire platform’s content.
Disney+ to launch in Saudi Arabia and MENA on June 8
Disney+ has confirmed launch dates for the 42 countries and 11 new territories set to launch this summer. The streaming service will launch in Saudi Arabia and 15 other MENA markets on June 8, 2022. Pricing in Saudi Arabia has been announced at $7.99 a month or $79.68 a year. In the UAE, it will cost $8.16 a month or $81.40 a year. In Egypt, it will cost EGP 2.73 a month or EGP 27.21 a year.
Two Israeli radio channels deploy DHD audio production solutions
Israeli radio channels Echo 99 FM and 103 FM have chosen DHD SX2 audio production mixers and TX touch-screen controllers. The project coincided with the relocation of production facilities from Herzliya and Givatayim to a combined HQ in Ramat Hasharon, and was supervised by Jerusalem-based broadcast audio systems integration specialist Broadcast Design.
Christoph Gottert, DHD International Sales Manager, said: “Four studios in total have been equipped with SX2 consoles. Each studio is linked with the MCR via Dante audio-over-IP. Three TX touchscreen controllers have also been provided. The challenge was to ensure both channels remained fully on-air throughout the move, which Micha Blum and his colleagues achieved very successfully.”
Micha Blum, Broadcast Design founder and CEO, said: “The new HQ has been fully renovated with 103 FM situated on the first floor and Echo 99 FM on the floor above. Master control room and supporting technical resources are shared. Two of the new 16-fader SX2 consoles and two TX controllers have been integrated into 103 FM. A new 16-fader SX2 is also being used by Echo 99 FM, along with a 12-fader SX console plus a TX controller.
“DHD TX controllers allow producers to access talkback to the main studio, host or cohost individual guests, select telco lines and control telco hybrids. They simplify the process of monitoring callers, selecting audio sources and timers, and receiving alerts. All routing is done via DHD software. A DHD Assist web app enables a technician to control the SX2 mixers and TX touch panels from a tablet or PC, supporting presenters without being on-site.
“We also integrated BroadcastThings Connect. The relocation is now complete and fully functioning.”
Cinema sales in Saudi Arabia reach 30.8m tickets in four years
Saudi Arabia’s cinema box office sales have exceeded 30.8m tickets over the past four years, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Since its launch in April 2018, the Saudi Film Commission has licensed 56 theatres with 518 screens in 20 cities, in which 1,144 films in 22 languages from 38 countries have been shown, including 22 Saudi films. The cinema sector has also contributed to the employment of 4,439 young Saudis of both genders.
Cairo film fest sets date for 44th edition
Cairo International Film Festival has announced the dates for its 44th edition, which will be held from November 13 to November 22, 2022, at the Cairo Opera House. The award-winning films will be screened the day after the closing ceremony, November 23. Submissions are set to open via the festival’s website on May 15 and close on August 15.
Haivision completes Aviwest buyout
Haivision Systems has announced the completion of its acquisition of Aviwest, a provider of video contribution systems.
This provides Haivision customers with a comprehensive video contribution solutions portfolio that now includes 5G transmission, mobile video contribution and network bonding technology, addressing the growing demand for live, high-quality video content in broadcast, sport and live event production.
With common values of reliability, quality and low latency, the two companies are hoping to bring together the industry’s solutions for video contribution over fixed and mobile networks.
Saudi Media Company has appointed Nader Bitar as Executive Director. Bitar previously worked for seven years at MMP World Wide in various roles, from Regional Deputy GM to Deputy GM to Managing Director.
