Warner Bros Discovery has announced a minority investment in Dubai's OSN Streaming, driving its presence in the Middle East.
The deal will “reinforce its commitment to the region's fast-growing landscape” the US global media and entertainment conglomerate said on Monday. Warner Bros will pay $57 million for a third of OSN Streaming – known to viewers as OSN Plus – said Joe Kawkabani, chief executive of parent company OSN Group.
"They're making a big statement. They're endorsing the story of OSN," he said, which has gone through big changes over the past three years. It has transformed from a pay TV network to streaming, to the launch of OSN Plus and the separation of OSN TV.
The deal will be conducted in stages and is subject to conditions that include regulatory approvals.
"The angle of the deal is not financial. It's strategic," Mr Kawkabani told The National. Content production, knowledge transfer, and expanding in the region and globally together is the main benefit, he added.
"Where they are counting on us is for everything related to localisation ... localisation of the service, local taste, etc."
Jamie Cooke, executive vice president and managing director for Central Europe, Turkey and the Middle East at Warner Bros, said: “OSN has been a great partner and custodian of our content, making this a natural step for WBD."
“Through this deal, we’re delighted to announce that both OSN and Warner Bros Discovery will invest in high-quality, locally produced content, ensuring a richer and more diverse offering for viewers.”
Creating a local slate of premium content that is differentiated from the rest of what's available is the goal of the deal, with content that is relatable to Middle East audiences. It will also create content from the region that is original to a global audience, he added.
"They want some specific regional stories, and we believe that the market here as well needs to see premium content basically similar to HBO content, or other premium content Warner produces, but about local stories," Mr Cooke said.
Mr Kawkabani said OSN will be able to expand its investment in local content and “broaden its reach beyond Mena to a global audience” on back of the deal. In the reverse, OSN aims to tap into WBD's about 117 million subscribers. Disney+ carries about 124.6 million subscribers while leading streaming platform Netflix has about 302 million.
Streaming is very fragmented and competitive space, globally and regionally, he explained. "This is why we're looking at Warner Brothers and saying, together, we're better than apart," he added.
Monday's announcement of Warner Brothers' seat at the table on OSN is not an all-sum matter, said OSN's chief executive.
"It's not at the stage today of saying we know exactly that we're going to be producing two things, and it's going to be x and y. No, no, it's a whole slate. It takes time to develop," said Mr Kawkabani. "That takes multiple years.
"The intention is, right now, that the shareholders sit together and put together an actionable plan," he added.
The partnership between the companies extends years before today's announcement. In May last year, OSN signed a deal with Warner Bros that guaranteed it exclusive regional rights to all new content from Max Originals and first premiere rights to Warner Bros Pictures. This opened the path for major films such as Barbie and Dune: Part Two to be on OSN platforms.
OSN Streaming merged with regional home-grown brand, the Nasdaq-listed Anghami, in late 2023, where OSN Group paid $50 million. The deal was set to bring in $100 million, 120 million registered users, and also 2.5 million paying customers.
Before that, the Dubai-based streamer signed a multiyear licensing agreement with HBO, owned by Warner Bros., to stream content from the American pay TV network in 2022. This is in addition to exclusive film catalogue rights last year.
In the case of Warner Bros, Monday's announcement marks its latest investment into a regionally founded and based streaming service. Its previous acquisition was in 2023 when it fully acquired Turkish streaming service BlueSky, Turkey's first local subscription video-on-demand service.
OSN Group operates in 22 countries offering local TV series and films delivering content over platforms including OSN+ and Anghami. Warner Bros is available in more than 220 countries and includes products such as CNN, Discovery Channel and TNT Sports.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
More on animal trafficking
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Look north
BBC business reporters, like a new raft of government officials, are being removed from the national and international hub of London and surely the quality of their work must suffer.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
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