Walt Disney Co’s Disney+ content is to be available for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa on regional pay television and online streaming service provider OSN from Thursday next week.
Dubai-headquartered OSN has signed a “long-term” exclusive distribution rights agreement, OSN chief executive Patrick Tillieux said, while declining to disclose further details.
Disney+ original programming, including hit show The Mandalorian, would be available on OSN’s pay television and online streaming services in 17 regional markets, including Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The online streaming service costs US$9.50 a month.
It is the first time content of Disney+, Walt Disney’s streaming service, has been distributed through a third-party provider, OSN said.
Walt Disney did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment.
The deal is likely to intensify competition with Netflix, which has a strong regional presence.
OSN secured the exclusive Disney+ rights following a restructuring last year in which the company, with revenue of about US$500 million a year, shed more than 60 percent of its 2,300 workforce.
“We have come out of a dark period,” Tillieux said.
He said he was confident in the business outlook for this year even though the company was no longer able to sell and promote products in shopping centers closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, with more people staying home, pay television and online usage have surged and online sales have increased over the past two weeks, he said.
The pandemic has also forced OSN to market the launch of Disney+ content entirely online, canceling traditional outdoor advertising plans, as few people now leave their homes.
“We are pushing heavily on ... digital,” Tillieux said.
OSN’s majority shareholder is Kuwait’s largest listed investment company, Kuwait Projects Co.
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