STARZ PLAY Arabia has officially launched in 17 new countries across the MENA region.
The new, premium content, direct-to-consumer multiplatform subscription video service was developed by Starz in conjunction with the Parsifal Entertainment Group for select markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As part the international initiative, STARZ PLAY Arabia marks the first time that Starz has extended its flagship brand in a service offering outside of the United States.
Maaz Sheikh, former chief sales and operations officer of a pay TV network in MENA, is the lead executive of STARZ PLAY Arabia and serves as its president and chief operating officer.
STARZ PLAY Arabia debuted on April 2nd, 2015, in 17 countries and territories throughout the region with a particular early marketing emphasis on GCC countries including Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Other countries where the service is available include Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia.
STARZ PLAY Arabia presents an offering that is optimised for the respective Middle East and North Africa markets, with original programming, blockbuster movies, premium series and kids content from other partners. STARZ PLAY Arabia extends the STARZ PLAY brand, currently used in the United States for the Starz TV Everywhere offerings, and initially offers more than 3,000 movies and a wide selection of TV series for $13.99/month, a 30-day free trial, and no monthly contractual obligations. The SVOD service will be available on PCs and Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Android devices at launch.
Maaz Sheikh commented: “STARZ PLAY Arabia has a unique opportunity to fill a market need and offer the growing Internet savvy population of the region the best in TV and movie content, at an affordable price point, and with high-value convenience and control. We have aggregated a compelling collection of great original programming including STARZ original series and movie content from around the world. Our content will be presented in a culturally sensitive way and will be a showcase technologically, with a strong consumer value proposition.”
