Arabic Streaming Service Shahid VIP Comes to North America

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

Shahid VIP

Shahid VIP launched in the Middle East and North Africa in January 2020. The timing couldn't have been better. With so many people stuck at home during the pandemic, the Arabic streaming service racked up 1.4 million subscribers, making it serious competition for Netflix in the region. Now, it's eyeing the U.S. and Canadian market with its six million or so Arabic speakers.

Los Angeles, home to Tinseltown and where Netflix has a massive footprint, will be the epicenter for that effort, which began in November.


Owned by one of the Middle East and North Africa's largest broadcasters, Dubai-based media conglomerate MBC, the streaming service will carry live channels, regional versions of shows like "Arab Idol" and "The Voice," sports programming, movies and television series. It costs $8.99 per month or $79.99 per year and will be free for the first 30 days to U.S. subscribers who sign up in November.

Sadek Sabbah, chairman of Sabbah Brothers group, a media company started by his grandfather in the 1950s, will be one of the creators filling Shahid VIP's pipes. The service has an exclusive deal with Sabbah's production company, Cedars Art Production, which will include new seasons of two of MBC's most popular shows, "Al Hayba" and "Aswad Fateh"; past seasons of the former are already available on Netflix. Cedars shoots primarily out of Lebanon, Morocco and Egypt and has garnered awards from Cannes, Toronto and Venice film festivals.

In addition to serving the Arab diaspora, Sabbah hopes to reach non-Arabic speakers, particularly young adults, by sharing stories that have a ring of familiarity. He cites Aladdin, Lawrence of Arabia, Cleopatra and Ali Baba shouting "Open Sesame!" as examples of well-known storylines and themes rooted in the rich heritage of the region, which he hopes will be a complement to exposing viewers to the varied and exotic sceneries and communities of the Middle East.

As a niche service, it will have tough competition.

dot.LA: Tell me about what working with Shahid VIP does for you as a producer.

Shahid VIP platform has liberated us from the constraints of linear TV and catering to the taste of the majority. We now have the ability to unleash our aspirations by producing cutting-edge series and films that tell universal stories with a twist of exotic.

We'll also bring new ideas to better attract certain audiences, especially young adults in the U.S. and Canada. We have the opportunity to tell good, important stories that may be exotic for them but at the same time, especially for Arabs, stories that will remind them of their roots.

\u200bSadek Sabbah

Sabbah Brothers chairman Sadek Sabbah will be producing several shows for Shahid VIP.

How does streaming on an international platform affect the types of messages your stories can carry?

With Shahid, we are in a better position to tell controversial stories. Our hands aren't tied anymore, and we are working hard on stories that will resonate in Arab countries, Arabs in the U.S. and Canada, as well as stories that might be of interest outside the Arab diaspora in the U.S. and Canada. We've already had several success stories of popular shows that were dubbed into Spanish and Portuguese. This is because we're telling stories that have a universal scope but with the taste of the Arabic countries where we are shooting. And now we are free; we have no border lines.

Can you give me an example of a new type of story you're now able to tell?

One of the ideas that came up a few weeks ago is talking about Jews that came from Arab countries.

Al Hayba

Older families from our area remember how they were living door by door with the Jewish community – in Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq – and it's important to tell those stories because they are the stories of where those Jews who are now in the U.S. and Canada came from.

How did Arabic television limit the stories you could tell?

Linear television, in addition to being made for all the family, is mostly governmental, and the government likes to be on the safe side, always. So we always have to be careful. We've come up with many stories that we couldn't do for many reasons: religious reasons, political reasons; We had to be careful.

With Shahid, we can present any type of series, and any type of dimension. For example, in the Arab world we have Ramadan, a holy month that is also very important for viewership because everyone is at home, fasting, and most of them are watching television from the early morning on. Because it's 30 days, for many years we had to do 30 episodes – even if the story could be done in 20 episodes, we had to stretch it out to make it 30.

2021 and the years to come – but especially 2021 – will be a real test for us because we're putting all our efforts as a group to make great productions. We know that we have a responsibility, especially as a group with so much time in this business.

Do you see that as a responsibility to pave a path for other Arab storytellers and creators to follow your footsteps into these broader storylines and wider audiences?

One hundred percent. We have a fairly big industry in the Arab world, and we work with many countries in the region. We see ourselves leading this industry in this new direction. I'm sure many of our friends in the media sector are preparing as well, and some are already leading with us, or they will soon.

What do you hope to achieve with success on Shahid VIP?

My hope is to bring the world near each other – to bring the people of the world together and to know more about their stories. It's very important to know a little bit about other people's lives. Also, we hope we can contribute to a U.S. co-production soon. If we can really prove ourselves on Shahid VIP, this will open our possibilities to work on a bigger scale. And I hope that we will end up making the media sector in the Arab world bigger. This is the beginning. We are really on the first word of the first sentence on the first page.

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Sam Blake primarily covers media and entertainment for dot.LA. Find him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA

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Billion-Dollar Milestones and Snapchat’s New Features

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles!

This week’s spotlight showcases LA’s thriving tech scene, featuring Snapchat’s latest feature updates and two local startups Liquid Death and Altruist, making TechCrunch’s Unicorn List for 2024.

Image Source: Snap

Snapchat’s recent fall updates bring fresh features, including a new iPhone camera shortcut for instant snaps, Halloween-inspired AI-powered Lenses, and Bitmoji costumes inspired by Mean Girls and Yellowstone. Bitmoji stickers now reflect trending Gen-Z expressions like “slay” and heart symbols for added flair in chats. Plus, the “Footsteps” feature on Snap Map allows users to track their past adventures privately, adding a nostalgic touch.

Image Source: Liquid Death

ICYMI, two LA startups joined the Unicorn Club—achieving valuations over $1 billion. Liquid Death, based in Santa Monica, is a canned water company with edgy branding and a humorous sustainability focus. Known for viral marketing and brand partnerships, it redefines bottled water as a lifestyle brand and environmental statement. In March, Liquid Death closed $67 million in strategic financing, raising its total funding to over $267 million and valuing it at $1.4 billion.

Image Source: Altruist

Altruist, a Culver City-based fintech platform, offers financial advisors streamlined tools to better serve their clients. With a user-friendly investment and account management platform, Altruist has gained strong traction in the finance world. In May, it announced a $169 million Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to over $449 million and earning a valuation of $1.5 billion.

Together, Liquid Death and Altruist exemplify LA’s capacity for innovation across diverse sectors, from lifestyle branding to fintech. Whether reshaping financial tools or redefining sustainable branding, these companies showcase LA’s unique entrepreneurial spirit. Go LA!

Check out TechCrunch’s 2024 Unicorn List here. And don’t miss Snapchat’s latest features—perfect for adding some fun, connection and maybe a few selfies this weekend!


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Freeform, a company bringing AI to metal 3D printing, raised $14M in funding from NVIDIA’s NVentures and AE Ventures to further develop its AI-powered 3D printing technology for industrial-scale production. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
  • Anthos Capital participated in a $70M Series D round for Carbon Robotics, which develops AI-powered robotics for precision agriculture, and the funding will be used to accelerate the growth of its autonomous weeding technology. - learn more
  • Anthos Capital participated in a $3.5M seed round for Plasma Network, aimed at expanding access to USDT stablecoins on the Bitcoin network, with the investment supporting the network’s growth and efforts to enhance stablecoin accessibility through the Lightning Network. - learn more

LA Exits


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      ⚖️FTC’s "Click to Cancel" Rule and Its Ripple Effect on Tech

      🔦 Spotlight

      Happy Friday Los Angeles,

      The FTC’s new “Click to Cancel” rule is shaking up subscription-based tech. Now, instead of navigating a maze of cancellation hurdles, users can cancel subscriptions as easily as they signed up—with a single click. This shift is a wake-up call for SaaS, streaming, and app-based companies, where once-hidden exit options often kept users around simply because canceling was a hassle.

      The rule also requires businesses to send regular renewal reminders, ensuring customers stay informed about upcoming charges. It's more than a cancellation button—it’s about transparency and giving users control over their decisions.

      For startups, the impact goes deeper than UX adjustments. Many have relied on "dark patterns," which subtly discourage cancellations by hiding the exit. Now, companies must shift toward building genuine loyalty by delivering real value, not by complicating exits.

      While this might affect retention rates initially, it could lead to more sustainable business models that rely on satisfaction-driven loyalty. Investors may start prioritizing companies that emphasize transparent, long-term engagement over those that depend on dark patterns to maintain retention metrics.

      The rule opens the door to more ethical UX design and a truly user-centered approach across the tech industry. It may even set a precedent against manipulative design in other areas, such as privacy settings or payment methods.

      Ultimately, the “Click to Cancel” rule presents an opportunity for the tech industry to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Startups and established companies that embrace transparency will likely stand out as leaders in a new era of customer-centric tech, where trust—not tricky design—is what retains users.

      As the tech landscape continues to evolve, LA Tech Week 2024 offers a chance to explore these shifts in real-time. Check out the upcoming event lineups to stay informed and make the most of your time:

      For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.


      🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies

      • Ghost, a company supporting top brands and retailers with streamlined logistics and fulfillment solutions, raised a $40M Series C funding round led by L Catterton to fuel its continued growth and innovation. - learn more
      • Terray Therapeutics, a biotech company using generative AI to develop small-molecule therapeutics, raised $120M in a Series B funding round led by Bedford Ridge Capital and NVentures, to advance it’s internal programs to clinical trials and further develop its AI-driven platform, tNova. - learn more

      LA Venture Funds
      • Assembly Ventures participated in a $27M Series A round for Monogoto, a provider of software-defined connectivity solutions that enable secure, cloud-based IoT and cellular network management on a global scale. - learn more
      • Angeleno Group participated in a $32M Series C round for REsurety, a company that recently launched an innovative clean energy marketplace aimed at providing better financial and operational insights to support renewable energy transactions. - learn more

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        🌴🧑‍💻 Your Guide to LA Tech Week 2024

        🔦 Spotlight

        Happy Friday Los Angeles,

        As many of you know, LA Tech Week is right around the corner, kicking off next Monday October 14th bringing together founders, creatives, investors, and engineers for a week of immersive events, panels, and socials across the city. From blockchain and AI to biotech and design, LA Tech Week is a chance to dive into the ideas shaping today’s technology landscape.


        What to Look Forward To

        Insights from Visionary Leaders: Hear firsthand from industry trailblazers as they share stories, challenges, and key lessons from their experiences. Expect fresh perspectives on AI, venture capital, biotech, and the ethical questions around emerging technologies.

        Interactive Panels: This week isn’t about watching from the sidelines; it’s about engaging directly with the tech community. Participate in hands-on panels discussing everything from startup scaling to ethical AI, with honest insights from those actively shaping these fields.

        Networking Mixers & Social Events: Meet and connect with founders, VCs, developers, designers, and fellow techies across LA. Rooftop mixers, lunch meetups, and creative gatherings offer the perfect chance to spark ideas and collaborate.

        Plan your week with the daily lineup, organized by location for easy navigation:

        For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

        Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!!


        🤝 Venture Deals

        LA Companies

        • MeWe, a privacy-focused social media platform, has raised an initial $6M in Series B funding led by McCourt Global to support Web3 integration and expand its decentralized network for 20 millions users. - learn more

          LA Venture Funds
          • EGB Capital participated in a $10M Series A funding round for MiLaboratories, which develops software that enables biologists to independently analyze complex genomic data, accelerating research and discovery in fields like drug development. - learn more
          • Crosscut Ventures participated in the $13.75M seed round for Airloom Energy, a company focused on developing airborne wind energy technology to harness high-altitude winds, with plans to accelerate a pilot project in Wyoming. - learn more
          • Overture VC participated in a $5.5M Seed funding round for Molg Inc., a company developing robotics and software for circular manufacturing, designed to disassemble electronics efficiently and recover valuable materials to reduce e-waste and support sustainable production. - learn more


            LA Exits

            • Options MD, a Los Angeles based telemedicine platform that provides care for people suffering from severe and treatment-resistant mental illness, is set to be acquired by Resilience Lab, an AI-driven provider focused on enhancing mental health care access. - learn more

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