⚽️ Kings League Expands to MENA

Saudi Arabia welcomes digital-first football format | Streaming in Short – W22

May 30, 2025

This week, we cover the launch of Kings League MENA with SURJ Sports Investment, CoComelon’s big move from Netflix to Disney+, and how Beast Games broke 44 records with Prime Video.

⚽ SPORTS: Kings League is coming to MENA

👉 SURJ Sports Investment is teaming up with Gerard Piqué’s Kings League to launch Kings League MENA: a digital-first football league mixing sport, content, and celebrity team owners. The first season kicks off later this year in Saudi Arabia.

📍 The MENA league joins a growing global network with editions in Spain, Brazil, France, Germany, and more.

💡 Expect open tryouts, gamified rules, and big-name players and creators behind the teams. It’s sports meets streaming, and another big bet from Saudi to reshape entertainment in the region.

👶 KIDS: CoComelon leaves Netflix for Disney+

👉 The hit preschool show is moving to Disney+ in 2027, after Netflix reportedly passed on renewing its license. Despite four new seasons in 2024, viewership dropped nearly 60%.

💡 This is a major win for Disney+ in the kids space. CoComelon joins Bluey, Spidey, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, making Disney+ the preschool destination to beat.

🏅 MrBeast Breaks 44 Records with Prime Video

What happened?

👉 Beast Games, the $100M reality show from MrBeast, just broke 44 Guinness World Records. From the biggest cash prize ($5M) to the most people dropped through trap doors (83!), the show set all kinds of wild records.

With 1,000 players and $10M in prizes, it’s now the biggest game show ever made. Over 50 million people watched it in just 25 days making it Prime Video’s second-biggest launch this year after Fallout.

Why it matters?

MrBeast showed that creators can succeed on big streaming platforms. Beast Games brought the energy of YouTube to TV, and it worked.

🎯 More creator-led reality shows are coming. This could be the start of a new trend.

🙏 Thanks Geoff Clark for the behind-the-scenes peek at the Amazon FYC screenings for Beast Games.

💍 CONTENT: Amazon distributed “Rings of Power” & 'Citadel'

Amazon MGM Studios is now licensing some of its top originals, including The Rings of Power and Citadel, to third-party platforms for the first time.

Amazon is shifting from exclusivity to syndication, using global distribution to boost ROI while keeping Prime Video's audience intact.

👑 UK: Real Housewives of London Cast unveiled

Hayu has announced the cast for its first original, The Real Housewives of London, featuring six women from high society, fashion, and finance.

This marks Hayu’s biggest move yet to drive subscriptions and expand the Housewives universe beyond the U.S.

📊 USA: YouTube tops TV viewing for 3rd month

YouTube led Nielsen’s TV rankings in April with 12.4% of total U.S. TV screen time, ahead of Disney (10.7%) and Paramount (8.9%).

As explained on TVREV newsletter, YouTube is both TV and Not TV.

📺 CTV: Dentsu launches first programmatic CTV marketplace

Dentsu introduced the MENA first agency-curated programmatic CTV marketplace via DMX, offering premium inventory and smarter ad targeting across MENA.

This marketplace should offer new opportunity for CTV advertising in the region, with higher attention, better viewability, and less fraud.

🎁 UAE: Yango launches loyalty program in Abu Dhabi

Yango’s new points program offers up to 50% cashback on taxi rides paid through the app, exclusive to Yango Play subscribers (the streaming platform).

It’s a smart way to keep users engaged, with a loyalty program that works across Yango’s full ecosystem, from rides to streaming.

🎉 LOS ANGELES: Netflix Tudum 2025 goes live tomorrow!

For one night only, Netflix will stream its biggest live event of the year, Tudum 2025, on May 31.

The show will feature stars from Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday, and more. Lady Gaga and Hanumankind will perform, and Sofia Carson will host.

It’s available for all Netflix subscribers and shows how Netflix is now getting into live events to keep fans excited.

🧭 DENVER: StreamTV Show partners with media thought leaders

From June 11–13, the StreamTV Show is back with a full schedule, and one of the main highlights is the Media Universe Summit led by Evan Shapiro, helping people make sense of today’s fast-changing media world.

TVREV is also hosting a special Pre-Game Workshop to explain what’s really happening in FAST and CTV, with Alan Wolk and guests.

If you work in streaming, this is the place to be.

This week, both The Last of Us and The Handmaid’s Tale wrapped up their seasons:

🧟‍♀️ The Last of US from Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin (Max/OSN+, Season 2: 7 episodes): Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.

🩸 The Handmaid's Tale from Bruce Miller (Hulu/OSN+, Season 6: 10 episodes): Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship.

10 years ago, on June 5, 2015, Sense8 premiered on Netflix. Created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski, the series broke new ground with its global cast, emotional depth, and celebration of diversity. Filmed across multiple countries, Sense8 became a cult favorite for its bold themes, unique structure, and powerful message of human connection.

Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend! We’ll be back Monday with our MENA insights.

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