STARZPLAY, the platform ranked consistently among the region’s top three subscription video-on-demand services, has partnered with The New Media Academy, the first innovative academy of its kind in the field of digital media in the Middle East, to stream the upcoming seasons of one of the most watched Arabic edutainment YouTube shows in the region, Al Daheeh, starting with the season three debut on January 7.
The agreement, signed by Maaz Sheikh, CEO and Co-Founder of STARZPLAY and Hussein Al-Atouli, Acting Executive Director of The New Media Academy, grants STARZPLAY the exclusive rights to stream the third, fourth, and fifth seasons of the Al Daheeh two weeks before it is made available on any other platform. The first two seasons are currently available to stream on STARZPLAY.
Through Al Daheeh, Egyptian content creator Ahmed Al Ghandour, simplifies educational topics in an entertaining and humorous fashion. In each of his episodes, Al Ghandour takes his audience on a journey through the subject matter, where he covers various themes, including natural sciences, economics, technology, and history.
Commenting on the partnership, Hussein Al-Atouli, Acting Executive Director of the New Media Academy, said: “Since its launch in 2020 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, The New Media Academy has sought to develop the creative landscape within the Arab world through positive educational content aimed at Arab youth to meet the need for more digital learning platforms. The Academy strives to form partnerships that contribute to elevating the digital content in the region that arms future generations with knowledge. Our partnership with STARZPLAY, one of the top streaming platforms in the region, gives Al Daheeh the chance to expand its reach to SVOD audiences as well.”
Nadim Dada, Vice President of Programming and Content Acquisition at STARZPLAY, said: “The addition of the next three seasons of Al Daheeh to our platform falls in line with STARZPLAY’s strategy to provide high quality Arabic content to our over 2.1 million subscribers across 19 countries in the MENA region. We are excited to collaborate with The New Media Academy to add Al Daheeh to our diverse library of titles, bringing fun and entertaining educational content and we are confident that the new seasons of the series will be a hit with our subscribers.”
Since its inception, Al Daheeh has achieved great success, with many of its episodes topping the list of most watched videos in the MENA region. On YouTube, the first two seasons of the series garnered over 300 million views and more than 30 million interactions across various digital platforms. With thousands of hours of premium content including the best western content, Arabic shows, Turkish favourites, anime, and live sports, STARZPLAY is available in 19 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan for fans to enjoy quality content anytime, anywhere, and from any device.
