Saudi Arabia-based streamer Shahid VIP is preparing to launch its latest project from Life On Mars’ Tony Jordan, with former Fremantle and StudioCanal exec Katrina Neylon leading on global sales. The Devil’s Promise is from Shahid VIP’s in-house production division MBC Studios and follows a man who promises to sell his soul to the devil in […]
Middle East media giant MBC Studios has started production on Rise Of The Witches, which claims to be the “biggest TV series” to emerge from Saudi Arabia to date. Details of the cost have not been revealed, but MBC said the “top-budget” fantasy-adventure show destined for streamer Shahid VIP would be “the biggest series to […]
Middle East-based streamer Shahid VIP has launched its local remake of Danish scripted classic, The Killing. The Arabic version (Monataf Khater, منعطف خطر) changes location from rainy and gloomy Copenhagen to sunny Cairo in Egypt, where the series is also filmed. The show is believed to be the first Nordic Noir drama to be remade in […]
Saudi Arabia-based MBC has ordered a local version of BBC comedy The Office. The 20-episode show – titled Al Maktab – will be produced by Shahid VIP’s production sibling MBC Studios, with support from the BBC Studios, which sell the format’s rights. The Arabic-language series has started filming and is being directed by Egyptian filmmaker Hisham […]
Beta launches Spanish prodco Germany’s Beta Group has expanded its production activities in Spain by founding Beta Fiction Spain. The new arm will produce TV series and feature films, as well as offering production services and act as a theatrical distribution arm in Spain. It is being led by Mercedes Gamero, the former GM of […]
AMC orders Bob Odenkirk’s Straight Man AMC Networks has greenlit Straight Man, its Bob Odenkirk-starring drama that is being produced by Sony Pictures Television, TriStar TV and Gran Via. The project, which was announced as fast-track development earlier this month in advance of AMC Networks’ upfront event in New York City, is based on Richard Russo’s novel […]
MENA-based MBC Group has become the latest buyer of Talpa format, Million Dollar Island. The reality survival show, which recently sold to NBC in the US, will be produced in Saudi Arabia by Blue Engine Studios, Talpa’s regional partner. The show is set to air on a yet-to-be-announced MBC channel, as well as on streamer Shahid […]
MENA’s streaming potential is being tapped across AVOD and SVOD, but who are the main players and what’s happening on the content front? Omdia analysts Constantinos Papavassilopoulos and Marija Masalskis tell TBI what’s next for this fast-growing region. The Online Video (OTT) market in the MENA region is experiencing a healthy growth trajectory, both in […]
MBC Group-owned Arabic SVOD service Shahid VIP has ordered a local adaptation of comedy format The Stand Up Sketch Show. Different Productions will produce the 10 x 30-minute series, which will be known locally as Stand UP, for Shahid VIP, based on the format created by Spirit Studios for ITV2 in the UK, which is […]
The gross cash spend on the global production and licensing of new content for streaming platforms reached a new high last year, rising by 16.4% in 2020 to reach $220.2bn, according to new research from UK-based firm Purely. Amid this boom, The Walt Disney Company emerged as the biggest single global spender on content in […]
