DUBAI and TORONTO — Broadcast solutions provider Nextologies today announced MBC Group (Middle East Broadcasting Center) has chosen the Toronto-based company to provide broadcast-grade signal transport and technology services for eight new live Rotana channels that have launched on MBC’s OTT platform Shahid VIP.
MBC Group is the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and its Shahid VIP service has the largest streaming library of Arabic content in the world, says the Nextologies press release. In recent months, Shahid VIP has expanded its offering to include linear channels covering many content genres.
The Rotana TV channels that have launched on Shahid VIP are owned by entertainment company Rotana Media Group, based in the United Arab Emirates.
In addition to signal transport, the services Nextologies is providing include transcoding and ingestion into Shahid VIP’s content delivery network (CDN) from various origination points in the Middle East, says the press release.
Earlier this year, Nextologies helped launch three channels on Shahid VIP, and with the additional Rotana services, a total of 35 live linear channels are available to Shahid VIP subscribers across the MENA region.
Dominic Farrell, chief technology officer of Shahid VIP at MBC Group, said in the Nextologies release: “After speaking with many technology providers, we chose Nextologies for their experience in the MENA region as well as their global capabilities, specifically with linear channels. They were able to streamline the launch process for Shahid VIP and deliver cost-effective and reliable service solution.”
“Nextologies’ global network, commitment to the region, and speed-to-market capabilities allowed the channels to be up and running quickly and efficiently and were a perfect fit for Shahid’s needs,” added Elie Kawkabani, managing director of Nextologies FZ LLC in Dubai, in the press release.
MBC Group first launched Shahid VIP across the MENA region in January 2020, and then announced at the end of October it was launching the service in the U.S. and Canada on November 1.
For more about Nextologies’ announcement today, please click here.
