Hey streamers 👋
Welcome to the Streaming Lab Podcast, listen in as The Streaming Lab team and industry insiders break down the latest headlines and trends shaping the future of streaming in MENA & India.
In this episode, recorded on September 4th, Yann and Vinit discuss about what happened this summer in the MENA & Indian streaming ecosystems ↓
Today’s program
Streaming the Olympics in MENA
Airtel and Apple TV+ enter into a strategic partnership
The launch of Samsung TV+ in MENA
Reliance Industries and Walt Disney merger approved by Competition Commission of India
1001's Strategic Alliances
The Rising Stars of India's Media Tech Landscape
Streaming the Olympics in MENA
During the Paris 2024 Olympics, the streaming service TOD introduced a dedicated Olympic Hub, improving viewer engagement. This specially designed section featured several interactive carousels, including:
Live Channels
Olympic Daily Highlights
Day -2 to 16
Meet the Athletes
Olympic Sports
Documentaries
Sports Guide
This Hub also included short documentaries about athletes, following their journeys and challenges, and making the Olympic experience more authentic.
TOD recently shared amazing insights about the MENA region’s Olympic viewership on its platform ↓
Airtel and Apple TV+ Enter Strategic Partnership
Apple TV+ and Apple Music have signed a partnership with Airtel, one of India's leading telecommunications giants.
This collaboration offers Airtel's premium subscribers complimentary access to both services, leveraging Airtel's extensive customer base of 281 million.
This move shows Apple's big push into the Indian market, aligning with their strategy to expand their reach and improve market penetration by working with a powerful local partner in a key global market.
The Launch of Samsung TV+ in MENA
Samsung TV Plus is Samsung's own FAST platform, offering live channels and VOD content about news, sports, entertainment, and more.
The service is completely free - no subscriptions, no fees, and no credit card needed.
In July, Samsung TV Plus expanded to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt on 2022-2024 models, with plans to reach 2020 and 2021 models soon.
They've brought premium channels to the region, including BBC Drama, Fear Factor, Deal or No Deal, Wipeout Xtra, and the Mr. Bean Animated series. They've also added 10 premium local channels from Shahid, such as El Le'ba, Naser Al Qassabi, Wifi, Masrah Masr, and Al Meerath.
As I often point out in this newsletter, collaboration is key in the FAST world, especially here in MENA.
Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Merger Approved
The Competition Commission of India has approved the merger between Reliance Industries and Walt Disney, confirming an impressive consolidation in the Indian media landscape.
This merger combines Reliance's JioCinema and Disney's Hotstar, creating a major entity in the streaming sector, particularly in sports broadcasting. With both platforms holding extensive rights to cricket, their unification could dominate the sports streaming market in India.
This strategic merger not only aims to leverage their combined content and technological strengths but also positions the entity to compete against global streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
1001's Strategic Alliances
1001 launched as a pure AVOD service in March 2023 and quickly attracted over a million users in just 3 weeks. By the following year, its user base had increased to more than 2 million.
In February 2024, 1001 expanded its offering with an SVOD model. This new service improves the existing AVOD by allowing users to enjoy ad-free premium content. In Iraq, it includes exclusive content from major local partners, which I'll cover more in-depth later in this article.
As 1001 evolved into a hybrid platform, blending AVOD with SVOD, it also announced significant content & distribution partnerships with:
OSN+
STARZPLAY
ROTANA
SUPERCELL
TOD
LALIGA
The Rising Stars of India's Media Tech Landscape
The media tech startup scene in India is experiencing impressive growth, thanks to innovative companies ↓
Among these rising stars is Dubverse, which specializes in AI-powered video dubbing, allowing content to be effortlessly translated into multiple languages.
Another startup, Tessact, founded by the former CTO of Walt Disney Company India, offers an AI-powered video creation suite that includes features like object, brand, and emotion detection.
These startups are not only improving how content is created and consumed but also positioning themselves as key players in a market ripe for technological disruption.
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That’s all for today’s podcast episode, the summer highlights from streaming in MENA & India. If you enjoyed this episode, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues!
The Streaming Lab podcast breaks down the latest headlines and trends shaping the future of streaming in MENA & India.
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Summer Highlights from Streaming in MENA & India