34 The Dubai, UAE-based myTV, the most advanced Arab American highend content provider of Arabic TV channels and videos on demand (VoD), has announced a new partnership with Lebanon’s LBC Group. myTV also recently finalized a collaboration with Cairo’s Misr International Films (“Misr” stands for Egypt in Arabic) to add the company’s entire library of productions to its platform. The content acquired includes internationally renowned Youssef Chahine’s films, documentaries and behind-the-scenes footage of one of the greatest Egyptian-born Arab filmmakers. Founded in 2011 by a group of Lebanese expatriates in the U.S., myTV is directed by a team of technology, content and media experts. The company provides Arabic-language live TV channels and unlimited VoDs everywhere in North and South America and Australia. myTV’s lineup includes 44 premium channels from across the Arab world with exclusive deals with TV networks such as Rotana, a Dubai-based group with offices in Cairo and Beirut; LBC America and Orbit, a Kuwait group for pay-per-view satellite TV services across the Pan-Arab region. In addition, myTV has access to an extensive library of VoD content from across the Arab world, making it the single largest Arabic content provider worldwide. Commentingon thenewpartnership, SpiroAzkoul, CEOofmyTV, stated, “The Over the Top (OTT) market is one of the fastest growing home entertainment options nowadays, proven by players like Netflix and Hulu. myTV will provide this OTT platform to the Arabic viewing audiences in North and South America, as well as Australia. This is a win-win partnership that will boost fruitful collaboration for all Arabic content owners globally. We have over 12,000 hours of rare footage films from the late Arab singers Umm Kolthum and Abdel Halim, plus films of Lebanese singer Feyrouz, also children’s cartoons, education and religious programming ranging from TV shows and new movie releases fully accessible from the comfort of consumers’ homes.” RegardingmyTV’spartnership withMisr, “Our newpartnership with myTV will make Chahine’s movies more accessible to a wider audience and will open new markets for Misr International Films productions. This collaboration withmyTV is, in fact, a very important step that will positively influence the Egyptian cinema,” said Gabriel Khoury, managing director and producer at Misr International Films. myTV addresses the needs of a wide audience of Arab residents across North and South America and Australia, including a total of 6.5 million Arabs in the U.S. and Canada, 11 million people of Arab descent in Brazil, and 800,000 Arabs in Australia. myTV was voted the number one start-up company in the MENA region for 2013 in Communicate Levant Magazine. Azkoul commented on this recognition, saying, “the acknowledgment of our peers is a testament to taking the company and product in the right direction.” As officially reported, “myTV’s unique service helps expatriates, immigrants and people on the move feel closer to their homeland by giving them access to the channels they love, and the TV shows,moviesormusicvideosthey are nostalgic for. myTV’s service is all about enhanced performance, advanced technology, more features, and the most affordable prices.” In the Pan-Arab region, pay-per-view packages vary between U.S.$25 and $100 per month. (Sherif Awad) myTV Partners with Media Gurus of the Middle East October 2013 Middle East Report ( Co n t i n u e d )
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