Dubai, UAE: STARZPLAY, ranked consistently among the region’s top 3 subscription video on demand service, today announced its partnership with Iraq’s biggest OTT player Almanasa to provide STARZPLAY’s diverse breadth of entertainment and sports offering for subscribers in the market.

As part of the three year agreement, STARZPLAY will provide its core product catalogue of movies and TV shows for Almanasa subscribers in addition to the STARZPLAY Sports pack. This means that viewers in Iraq subscribing to Almanasa will be able to enjoy unlimited entertainment and the best in live sports, all under one umbrella.

Further, Earthlink, Iraq's largest Internet service provider, will bundle Almanasa platform as a Premium Bundle with its home internet packages to offer value added benefits for its users. The Premium Bundle is exclusive for EarthLink home internet users and will be included in their subscription.

Raghida Abou Fadel, SVP for Business Development & Sales, STARZPLAY, said: “We are delighted to expand our network to cover Iraq to offer premium and cutting-edge programming to all the entertainment and sports enthusiasts in the market. Our content line-up offers an impressive library of English and Arabic programming as well as the best live sporting events and through these value-added packages, subscribers can enjoy exceptional entertainment at no additional cost. We look forward to our partnership with Almanasa as we continue to expand our footprint in the Middle East.”

AlMuheleb AlZaidy, Almanasa CEO, said “We are proud to provide our subscribers in Iraq with additional content options from one of the region’s leading video streaming services. Customer delight is at the core of our business and offering value-added offers to our customers underlines this commitment. We believe that STARZPLAY Sports Package, especially Seria A, is an optimum entertainment need for our customers. We hope that they enjoy STARZPLAY’s compelling programming as we continue to evolve our offerings to deliver unmatched experiences to them.”

STARZPLAY Sports has the rights to stream the EA Sports Italian Super Cup and SuperCopa Argentina and every match from the Serie A live and exclusive. Sports fans can also enjoy live wrestling, football, cycling, World Championship boxing, UFC, basketball and much more, all available to stream on the platform.  

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.  

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About STARZPLAY  

Ranked consistently among the region’s top 3 subscription video on demand services, STARZPLAY Arabia (www.starzplay.com) streams an extensive bouquet of premium content covering Hollywood movies, TV shows, documentaries, the same-time-as-the-US series – plus live sports, dedicated kids’ entertainment and Arabic content – to 19 countries across MENA and Pakistan.    

STARZPLAY has thousands of premium titles including exclusive STARZPLAY Arabia original content such as Baghdad Central, STARZ Original content such as Power, Outlander, Spartacus and The White Queen as well as premium content with add-ons such as, Discovery+, UFC Arabia, BluTV, AD Sports, Rugby, and STARZPLAY Sports, the dedicated sports package covering football, wrestling, cricket, boxing, basketball, golf and more. 

STARZPLAY Arabia has secured tie ups with a host of leading, global studios including MGM, 20th Century Studios, Warner Bros, Universal, Discovery and Fox International Channels. Until 2022, STARZ (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) was the lead investor along with media and technology investment firms including SEQ Investors and Delta Partners. In early 2021, STARZPLAY Arabia secured its first independent financing in the region of US$25 million (approx. AED 92 million) from Abu Dhabi based Ruya Partners. In 2022, E-Vision, from e& and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company acquired a majority equity stake of circa 57% in the company.    

Reaching over to 2.1 million subscribers, STARZPLAY Arabia allows subscribers to watch its full HD and 4K content via most internet-enabled devices, smart TVs and game consoles, and is widely available on regional IPTV services. Its iOS and Android apps – installed on more than three million devices – also allow downloads for offline playback.  

For media enquiries:    
ASDA’A BCW | Arab Youth Survey  

Janine Alamir | Tiffany Dickinson   
janine.alamir@bcw-global.com| tiffany.dickinson@bcw-global.com