🎢 Welcome to Netflix House
Netflix Brings Its Shows to Real Life | Streaming in Short – W46
This week, I cover Netflix opening its first Netflix House, MBC Group’s profits rising as Shahid gets close to breakeven, and Comcast looking at buying WBD with possible support from Saudi Arabia.
🎢 Netflix Opens Its First Netflix House
👉 Netflix has launched its first Netflix House, a real-world space where fans can explore experiences inspired by its biggest shows.
📍 The venue includes immersive zones based on One Piece and Wednesday, a VR area, a nine-hole mini golf course, the Tudum Theater, a shop and a restaurant with dishes from Netflix titles.
💡 Netflix House is designed to bring fans closer to its stories. It helps the company test new ideas, react quickly to hits and build a stronger brand presence offline.
💰 MBC Group Profit Up 71% as Shahid Nears Breakeven
👉 MBC Group has shared strong results for the first 9 months of 2025, showing fast growth across TV, streaming and production.
📍 Revenue reached 3.8B SAR (+30%). Net profit rose to 427.8M SAR (+71%). Shahid performed well. Streaming revenue hit 1.0B SAR (+26%). Subscriptions grew 27%, and advertising grew 23%. Net loss improved to 23.3M SAR, much lower than last year.
💡 The results show MBC is getting stronger in both TV and streaming. Shahid is now close to breaking even.
📺 Comcast Looks at Buying Warner Bros. Discovery With Possible Saudi Support
What happened?
👉 Comcast CEO Brian Roberts traveled to Saudi Arabia as he explores a possible bid for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). While there, he met with officials from the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Key details:
PIF has almost $1 trillion and could help Comcast finance a deal.
Roberts also visited Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia’s new entertainment city, and joined a major event for global CEOs.
Zaslav wants a bidding war and believes WBD could be worth around $70B, higher than the offer already rejected from Paramount Skydance.
Why it matters?
🎯 A PIF-backed Comcast bid would have a big impact in MENA. PIF owns MBC and Shahid, while Warner Bros. Discovery recently bought a stake in OSN Streaming.
🎙️ AI: Michael Caine Joins ElevenLabs’ Iconic Marketplace
ElevenLabs has partnered with Sir Michael Caine, adding his voice to its new Iconic Marketplace, where companies can license more than 25 cultural famous voices for creative projects.
ElevenLabs wants to use AI to support creators by giving them access to iconic voices, helping a new generation tell stories in fresh ways.
📺 CREATORS: Tubi Adds Original Shows From Top Creators
Tubi is doubling down on creator-led content by launching new shows from popular YouTubers and digital stars like Joey Graceffa, KevOnStage, TheOneShu and Bigg Jah.
The move helps Tubi keep viewers longer and positions the platform as a key home for creator-driven series, following recent deals with MrBeast and Kevin Hart.
⚽ SPORTS: Apple TV Removes Extra Fee for MLS Games
Apple is ending the separate MLS Season Pass, which means all Major League Soccer games will now be available to every Apple TV user starting next season.
This change helps Apple grow its sports offering, especially as live sports are the only place where Apple TV currently shows ads.
⚽ SPORTS: MBC Group Secures Rights to Saudi Women’s Football Competitions
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation has signed a major deal with MBC Group, giving the broadcaster exclusive rights to the Saudi Women’s Premier League, the Saudi Women’s Cup and the Saudi Women’s Super Cup for the next two seasons.
The partnership is a big step in growing women’s football visibility in Saudi Arabia and across the region.
📱 TELCO: e& life Brings STARZPLAY to Its Egypt Plans
e& life has partnered with STARZPLAY to make the streaming service available on all e& Egypt plans including Emerald, Hekaya, Super Connect and e& Business.
By combining e& life services with STARZPLAY’s content, users get more flexibility, better value and a smoother entertainment experience.
🎬 NXT Media Days MENA Kicks Off in Dubai on Nov 18
NXT Media Days MENA is back with a full day of sessions split into two tracks, Content and Advertising, covering everything from streaming acceleration and Arabic content to CTV growth, FAST channels, sports strategy and measurement.
With top speakers from platforms, broadcasters, telcos and ad-tech companies, the event will offer strong insights, new connections and a clear look at how MENA’s media and advertising ecosystem is evolving.
🎬 Crisp Hosts Microdrama Summit in Seoul
Crisp is launching a new global summit in Seoul on November 17 to explore the fast-growing world of microdramas, with a full day of keynotes and panels on origins, global expansion, AI and mobile growth.
With speakers from Google, TikTok, HuntMobi, RisingJoy and more, the event will bring together creators, platforms and tech leaders to share insights and map the future of vertical storytelling.
📡 Pluribus, from Vince Gilligan (Apple TV+, 9 episodes): The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.
🧟♂️ Frankenstein, from Mary Shelley and Guillermo del Toro (Netflix TV+, 2h 30m): Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist, brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.
🛸 60 years ago, Doctor Who premiered on the BBC. Created by Sydney Newman, Verity Lambert, and Donald Wilson, the series introduced viewers to a mysterious Time Lord traveling through space and time in the TARDIS. Doctor Who mixed science fiction, adventure, and human stories in a way no other show had done before.
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Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back Monday with my MENA insights.
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This concept could realy change how platforms think about fan engagment beyond the screen. The One Piece immersive zone sounds perfect for building that comunity feel, and combining it with dining from Netflix shows is clever. It would be intresting to see if other streamers follow this model or if Netflix's IP library gives them an edge here that others can't replicate.