Shahid, the world’s leading Arabic streaming platform powered by MBC Group, has said its tie-ups across the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) has led to a 3.5 times growth over the past 12 months.

Shahid’s strong and dynamic partnerships across various industries – including telcos, device manufacturers and other brands, banks, and airlines – have been key in driving growth and expansion.

Telcos

Starting with telcos, Shahid has partnered with over 30 telecommunication operators across the region to date, offering smart and easy mobile billing for subscribers. Additionally, Shahid has agreements in place with 12+ partners so far that bundles complimentary Shahid subscriptions along with core mobile plans.

Major telcos to have partnered with Shahid include Saudi’s STC, Egypt’s Vodafone, and Orange Morocco. Not only do the partnerships focus on special deals for Shahid subscribers, but they have also resulted in creating exclusive experiences for telcos clients.

For example, in November 2022, Vodafone RED customers in Egypt were given the exclusive opportunity to be part of the private screening of the Shahid Originals production, “Room 207”. Meanwhile, this January saw Orange Morocco supporting the launch of “Casa Street”, the first Moroccan series produced for Shahid Originals through various experiences and activations for viewers.

Device manufacturers

During the past 12 months, Shahid announced partnerships with major device manufacturers in the region to bring exclusive bundles and subscription offers to customers. They include Samsung, LG, Elaraby, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation, Hisense, and OPPO.

Brands

Shahid has also formed regional partnerships with Talabat, Anghami, Noon, Mastercard, Al Rifai and Careem, focusing on running co-branded subscription campaigns.

Banking & payment providers

Part of Shahid’s continued growth has been thanks to its ongoing facilitation of payment options for a highly diverse region. It expanded its payment methods through e-wallets, launching with Egypt’s Paymob and Vodafone Cash.

Shahid has also launched a variety of prepaid cards in 100+ retail distributors across 15 countries, including via Fawry, Jarir, Virgin Megastore, Sharaf DG, and Like4card.

As for recent banking agreements, Shahid has formed regional partnerships with Arab Bank and Emirates NBD Egypt.

Airlines

And finally, one major partnership to have been announced over the past year was that of Shahid joining forces with Emirates to offer premium content exclusively onboard its award-winning inflight entertainment system, ICE.

Announced in July 2022, the collaboration made Emirates ICE the only platform in the world – aside from the streaming service’s own premium-subscription online platform – to offer access to highly popular titles by Shahid Originals.

At time of debut, all Emirates customers enjoyed access to an extensive selection of over 135 hours of Shahid content from 15 programmes.

Commenting on Shahid’s growth in partnerships, Natasha Matos-Hemingway, Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer at Shahid, stated: “We are delighted with the growth and expansion we have achieved over the past year, and we attribute much of our success to the strong partnerships we have formed across the Mena region.

“We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationships with our partners, and delivering compelling storytelling, innovative digital offerings, and lifestyle experiences to our subscribers and fans.”

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