Wio Turns Banking Into a Streaming Bundle

Using everyday spend to unlock streaming access | Streaming in Short – W15

Apr 10, 2026

⏱️ This week’s streaming news in MENA and around the world, in 5 min.

📊 Wio launches cashback offer on streaming subscriptions

👉 Wio, a UAE neobank, launched “Binge All Month, We’ll Pay the Bill” for its Family customers, offering cashback on streaming subscriptions.

📍 Users can get cashback on platforms like Netflix, OSN+, STARZPLAY, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Premium and Spotify if they meet a minimum spend, pay with their Wio card, and stay within the AED 150 cashback cap.

💡 Banks can help drive subscriptions and reduce churn, while users benefit from lower costs and easier access to multiple platforms.

🏟️ ESPN expands globally on Disney+

👉 ESPN is now available on Disney+ across 53 countries in Europe and Asia-Pacific, bringing its total reach to around 100 markets worldwide.

📍 Subscribers can access live sports, studio shows, and original content alongside entertainment, all within one app. The offering includes major leagues like NBA and NHL, college sports, and ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries.

💡 Adding sports helps increase engagement, attract new audiences, and reduce churn by combining entertainment and live content in a single ecosystem.

The Ipsos Ramadan 2026 Streaming Handbook is now available.

Based on data from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, this report shows how audiences watch, subscribe, and engage during Ramadan.

What insights will you get?

The streaming landscape in MENA
When and how people watch during Ramadan
What drives subscriptions and churn
How platforms compete and stand out
Where people watch news during the day
If microdramas are growing in MENA

Access the report overview to see the insights you can unlock, and how they can improve your content, pricing, and marketing for the rest of the year and for Ramadan 2027 👇

Get your report overview TODAY!

📱 ReelShort enters Southeast Asia with telco deal

What happened?

👉 ReelShort partnered with Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand’s leading 5G provider, to launch its first telco bundle in Southeast Asia.

Key details:

The co-branded package gives AIS users full VIP access to ReelShort for just ~$1/month, vs ~$17 standard price.
The offer includes ad-free viewing, daily episodes, and is bundled with 5G connectivity.
ReelShort brings a large catalog (~3,000 titles), including dubbed and subtitled Thai content.
Thailand is the first step in a broader expansion strategy across Southeast Asia.

Why it matters?

🎯 Microdrama platforms are now scaling through telco partnerships. Low pricing + distribution through operators can accelerate adoption in mobile-first markets.

💸 Yango Play supports its viewers in UAE

Yango Play launched a “Proud to call the UAE home” campaign, offering 30 days of access for just AED 1 to users in the UAE.

Streaming is also a way to follow the news, understand what’s happening, and stay connected, while still offering an escape with a series.

🌍 Paramount Skydance confirms Middle East backing for WBD deal

Paramount Skydance confirmed that funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, and Qatar are backing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The move highlights the growing role of MENA investors in global media, as sovereign funds continue to invest in major entertainment and technology assets.

🎮 Netflix expands into kids gaming with Playground app

Netflix launched “Playground”, a new app designed for kids under 8, combining games and characters from popular shows like Peppa Pig and Sesame Street.

The move shows how Netflix is going beyond video, building a broader ecosystem for younger audiences where watching, playing, and learning happen in one place.

🎨 Fremantle launches first native AI series with Art Awakens

Fremantle unveiled Art Awakens, a short-form series created by its AI studio Imaginae, using generative AI to bring iconic paintings to life.

The project shows how AI is starting to be used as a creative tool, opening new ways to tell stories while staying connected to traditional artistic content.

⚖️ Netflix faces legal pushback on price increases in Europe

A Rome court ruled that Netflix applied price hikes between 2017 and 2024 without sufficient justification, opening the door for potential refunds to users in Italy.

The decision shows how pricing strategies are coming under closer scrutiny, with regulators and consumers challenging how platforms increase subscription fees.

🇵🇹 Europe’s streaming industry gathers in Lisbon

StreamTV Europe will bring together platforms, broadcasters, FAST players, advertisers, and tech leaders for a three-day event in Lisbon from April 13–15.

The event reflects the need for closer collaboration across the ecosystem, as industry leaders meet to share insights, challenge strategies, and shape the next phase of streaming in Europe.

🦹‍♂️ The Boys, from Eric Kripke (Prime Video, 8 episodes): Homelander controls America through fascist terror, imprisoning dissenters in Freedom Camps. Butcher, Hughie, Annie and The Boys mount a desperate resistance against insurmountable odds to stop his tyrannical rule.

📺 21 years ago, The Office (US) premiered on NBC. Developed by Greg Daniels and adapted from the original UK series by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the show follows the everyday lives of employees at Dunder Mifflin, a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Using a mockumentary style and character-driven humor, it became a long-term success, later finding a second life on streaming and turning into one of the most watched and rewatched series globally.