STARZPLAY ARABIA ESTABLISHES NEW HEADQUARTERS IN ABU DHABI
THE STRATEGIC MOVE WILL ENABLE THE COMPANY’S GROWTH THROUGH TECHNOLOGY, PARTNERSHIPS AND CONTENT CREATION
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) announced its partnership with the video on demand service, STARZPLAY, to establish the company’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
The partnership is part of ADIO’s AED 2 billion (USD 545 million) Innovation Programme, an initiative of the Abu Dhabi government’s Ghadan 21 accelerator programme. From its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the streaming provider will ramp up partnerships with the city’s vibrant media and creative ecosystem to offer exclusive, in-demand entertainment to its subscribers. Building on existing cooperation with Abu Dhabi Media, twofour54 and Image Nation Abu Dhabi, STARZPLAY will partner with local production houses and animation studios to produce compelling original content, especially relevant for the region’s largest demographic, the 200 million Arab youth.
H.E. Dr. Tariq Bin Hendi, Director General, ADIO said, “Abu Dhabi’s creative sector is rapidly taking shape with significant government investment, a steady flow of skilled talent and sound infrastructure to fuel the ambitions of creators and businesses. The media industry is coming together with a cohesive and elevated offering to welcome and support companies from all around the world. As a long-term partner, we are here to help businesses aligned with our vision and fast-track their progress through support for R&D, while ensuring they are suitably equipped to grow sustainably on the global stage.”
As part of the strategic partnership, a next-generation private cloud will be built in Abu Dhabi to meet the growing consumer demand in the region. The private cloud will also be offered to other media companies as a fully managed and turnkey over-the-top (OTT) solution. In addition, STARZPLAY will build its technology team, comprising of AI engineers and data scientists, to support the Abu Dhabi operations.
Maaz Sheikh, CEO and Co-Founder, STARZPLAY said, “With our new headquarters in Abu Dhabi, we are excited about producing more original content through enhanced media partnerships. Further, building the new cloud facility will bring us closer to our fans to serve them with a richer and more personalised experience. These are pivotal steps in our evolution as a regional tech and media champion and we are grateful to ADIO for supporting our strategic growth vision.”