Cairo witnessed this month the signing of two memoranda of understanding between United Media Services on the one hand and Al Arabia Outdoor Advertising and the MBC Group on the other.
According to media experts and professionals, the MoUs are expected to usher the Arab world’s media industry into a new phase of upgrade and modernization.
The first MoU was signed between the United Media Services and Al Arabia Outdoor Advertising concerning work on developing outdoor advertising in Egypt according to the latest technology in this field.
The second memorandum was signed between the United Media Services and the MBC Group and includes cooperation across three axes.
The first is the joint confrontation of piracy by doubling efforts between the two sides and providing technical resources at the technological level necessary to confront this negative phenomenon.
The second axis relates to partnership in the production of major TV dramas while the third axis is concerned with the possibility of cooperation in distributing the production of the United Media Services outside Egypt.
The signing of the MoUs was attended by Hassan Abdullah, Chairman of United’s Board of Directors, along with other members of the Board, Mohammed Al-Khuraiji, President of Al Arabia Outdoor Advertising, and Sam Barnett, CEO of MBC.
TURNAROUND IN MEDIA INDUSTRY
Ihab Talaat, an Egyptian businessman and producer, said that the signing of those MoUs signals a turning point in the TV drama industry as well as in fighting piracy, which is a long-standing phenomenon plaguing this sector.
“MBC has a long experience in the media industry which extends to 10 years. The United Media Services is still young but has had a successful experience since its launch,” Talaat told Majalla.
“Having this partnership would largely benefit the Egyptian company and would pave the way for having high-budget, high-quality TV drama series,” he added.
During the latest holy fasting month of Ramadan, MBC Group recorded high viewership rates as 9 of its works were included in the list of the 10 most-watched works in Saudi Arabia.
MBC Group consolidated its leadership position in the regional media market, gaining a total viewership share of about 51 percent in the Kingdom.
In addition to its regional leadership, MBC’s digital streaming platform Shahid VIP was able to achieve a global footprint as the platform expanded its international presence.
Subscribers are now able to enjoy watching the content of Shahid VIP anywhere around the world, including the United States and Canada.
Thus, this platform has become today the largest provider of Arabic content among the global digital platforms, thanks to the diversity of its content which is rich in original works and exclusive Arab productions in addition to international releases.
By the end of Ramadan 2021, the number of Shahid VIP subscribers has reached more than two million, which reflects an increase of 43% compared to Ramadan 2020.
“This is a huge success that will add a lot to the United Media Services,” Talaat said.
ADVERTISING IN DIGITAL FORM
The second MoU signed this month was between United Media Services and Al Arabia Outdoor Advertising which has emerged as the Arab world leader in the field of outdoor advertising.
The company succeeded in operating 66% of the highway billboards in Saudi Arabia and in 2014 the company increased its capital to 550 million Saudi riyals.
In TV statements, Al-Khuraiji, President of Al Arabia Outdoor Advertising, said that the new partnership would help introduce digital, interactive advertising billboards to Egypt and give a massive upgrade to this sector.
“Egypt is still lagging behind in terms of digital advertising and having this kind of advertising in the country would boost the industry and the distribution of media content as well,” Talaat said.
“It is really going to be a real game changer for the Arab media and advertising industries,” he added.
