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.
<p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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. </p><p><a href="https://dot.la/niche-streaming-services-2646401314.html" target="_self">As a niche service, it will have tough competition</a>.</p><h4>dot.LA: Tell me about what working with Shahid VIP does for you as a producer. </h4><p>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. </p><p>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.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3NTIzMi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTE2MzYyNH0.fkOEmc09lTHW--W0gBMcVtrvgsFzVLgdblGiRM--y40/image.jpg?width=1500&coordinates=328%2C0%2C328%2C0&height=2000" id="2976a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="69c4de7a64250deb21615c4773b60a45" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="\u200bSadek Sabbah" />
Sabbah Brothers chairman Sadek Sabbah will be producing several shows for Shahid VIP.
<h4>How does streaming on an international platform affect the types of messages your stories can carry?</h4><p>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.</p><h4>Can you give me an example of a new type of story you're now able to tell?</h4><p>One of the ideas that came up a few weeks ago is talking about Jews that came from Arab countries.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDc3NTIzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0ODQ3MTgxNn0.vLsVpxRopEKXp4VqKBTmE8QGOMwbgIiZHxLOMmIy5yE/image.jpg?width=980" id="bfaf4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d9b6d0132aa727be56513f141a1ae79" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Al Hayba" />
<p>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.<br></p><h4>How did Arabic television limit the stories you could tell?</h4><p>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.</p><p>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.</p>
<p>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.<br/></p><h4>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?</h4><p>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. </p><h4>What do you hope to achieve with success on Shahid VIP?</h4><p>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.</p><p>---</p><p><em>Sam Blake primarily covers media and entertainment for dot.LA. Find him on Twitter @hisamblake and email him at samblake@dot.LA</em><br/></p>
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- Streaming continues to outperform expectations, led by Disney Plus, where worldwide subscribers have grown past 73 million.
- Disney's other divisions remain in a tough spot, though live sports has helped the company's media networks division.
- The formerly lucrative amusement parks division's struggles continue, with Disneyland expected to remain closed until 2021, prompting chief executive Bob Chapek to take a shot at California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Disney Plus was the shining star for Disney's year-end earnings report on Thursday. Paid subscribers blew past expectations to 73 million as of October 3rd. Reported quarterly revenue of $14.7 billion beat Wall Street expectations, although it still represents a 23% decrease year-over-year.
<p>Disney shares jumped by as much as 6% in after-hours trading on the news.</p><p>Part of Disney Plus' subscriber boost can be attributed to the July release of "Hamilton," anticipation for season two of "The Mandalorian" that began to roll out in October, and the <a data-linked-post="2647452955" href="https://dot.la/mulan-2020-2647452955.html" target="_blank">move to bring "Mulan"</a> to the platform for a $30 fee, rather than proceed with a (delayed) theatrical release. </p><p>The company did not provide specific figures for "Mulan" on Disney Plus, though chief executive Bob Chapek noted that its performance suggests "we've got something here in terms of the premier-access strategy." </p><p>Notably, over a quarter of Disney Plus' subscribers come from Disney's Hotstar subsidiary in India, where the average revenue-per-user is below $1, <a href="https://twitter.com/RichLightShed/status/1327011048029876224" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>according to media analyst Rich Greenfield</u></a>. </p><p>More subscriber growth is likely, as Disney Plus will launch in Latin America next week, Chapek said in prepared remarks. Pixar's "Soul" will also premiere on the service, for free, in December. </p><p>Overall, Disney's streaming umbrella, which includes Hulu and ESPN Plus, now boasts over 120 million subscribers worldwide. When Disney Plus launched in November 2019, the company had projected it would take five years to gain 60 - 80 million subscribers.</p><p>"The real bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer business, which is key to the future of our company," Chapek said in a statement, adding that Disney will be "heavily tilting" its investment from linear to DTC.</p><h3>Disney's Downside</h3><p>While that streaming-centric future has been accelerated by the pandemic, the coronavirus continues to devastate Disney's parks and experiences division. With some parks shuttered completely and others operating at limited capacity, quarterly income fell $2.4 billion year-over-year, while full-year income fell $6.9 billion.</p><p>That loss fell heavily on the company. Overall quarterly operating income fell 82% year-over-year. Fiscal year total revenues saw a 6% decline to $65.4 billion, while operating income fell 45%. </p><p>The company expects Disneyland to stay closed until 2021. Chapek took a shot at California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-10-07/california-theme-parks-disneyland-reopening-not-imminent" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>ordered Disneyland to remain shuttered indefinitely</u></a>. </p><p>"We are extremely disappointed that the state of California continues to keep Disneyland closed," said Chapek in his prepared remarks. "We believe state leadership should look objectively at what we've achieved at our parks around the world.... as opposed to setting an arbitrary standard."</p><p>Chapek noted that Orlando-based Disney World has been able to increase from 25% capacity when it reopened in July to 35% capacity while remaining in compliance with social distancing guidelines. </p><p>He also expressed optimism despite the bleak figures. "Through forward bookings and reservations, people are showing encouraging signs to spend time with us at a Disney park," he said. </p><p>Disney's media networks, which include ESPN, ABC, FX and the Disney Channel, saw a revenue bump for both the quarter and the year, of 11% and 14%, respectively, boosted by advertising associated with the return of live sports. On the studio side, with production continuing to face challenges, quarterly revenues fell 52%, while the yearly figure dropped 13%. </p><ul class="ee-ul"></ul><p>The company also announced it is permanently suspending its dividend, which some investors have been <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/07/dan-loeb-calls-on-disney-to-suspend-dividend-invest-it-in-disney-plus.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>calling for in order to invest further in streaming</u></a>. </p>
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Shantell Yasmine Abeydeera is an L.A.-based writer, performer and content creator. Her latest series, "Dating In Place," will be available on Revry, an L.A.-based, ad-supported, niche streaming service focused on the LGBTQ community.
Revry is one of many niche streaming services competing in an increasingly crowded market, where audience loyalty and good relationships with artists are key to success, as we probed in an earlier piece on what it takes for a niche streaming service to survive.
Revry is free and accessible to more than 250 million households and devices in over 130 countries. Its offerings are divided into several channels, such as "Revry News" and "Revry Live TV." "Dating In Place" will air on the channel " OML on Revry," which debuted earlier this month to focus on queer female programming.
<p>
It is a collaboration with
<a href="https://onemorelesbian.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OML</a>, a boutique media company formerly called One More Lesbian, of which Abeydeera is also the director of content and partnerships.
</p><p>
dot.LA recently caught up with her about her new show, her thoughts on the value of queer spaces in the streaming world and how niche services can help build community around content.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2117fb45edb1f76f49a5a78fddfb0aa5"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/g_TnqVsn2xs?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">OML on. Revry - Official Teaser</small>
</p><h4>dot.LA: Do you consider yourself a queer-oriented artist?
</h4><p>
<strong>Abeydeera</strong>: I consider myself to be a storyteller, first and foremost. But being queer is a very important part of of my storytelling journey, mainly because of the lack of representation that was available to me when I was younger. I wasn't seeing stories where I was represented on screen. And that's because of the fact that I am so unique, in being multi-ethnic, queer, very feminine-presenting, a lot of things that we just don't really on screen.
</p><p>
I was always really, really thirsty to see that kind of representation. I started creating queer storylines, and once it started being received by the queer community, I saw that there was such a need for it.
</p><h4>How does a platform like Revry allow you to get those kinds of representative stories out there?
</h4><p>
I think it's huge, but there is definitely a struggle. Platforms like Revry obviously don't have the money behind them, the way that the mainstream streamers like your Hulus and your Amazons do. So it's harder for them to produce shows that are the kinds that bring in the audiences that become loyal.
</p><p>
What's really smart is that these guys are focusing a lot on short-form content, which is far more attainable for content-creators as well as for the platform. So, say for example, "Dating In Place": 10-minute episodes, 10 episodes of the series – that is far more affordable than 10 episodes of a half-hour series where you go from the show costing $20,000 to costing $150,000. It's easier for queer content-creators to fund short-form content.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwNzY2Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NzA0NDczMX0.hwfuHVQoqAz_Y2fYNgwdTa9oA4lR_6CH_wQxz_-7KNk/image.jpg?width=980" id="12626" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a6fceda36e0d2c10274fe8f1a5dcd400" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
</p><h4>In that sense, do you see Revry as a stepping stone to working with a different, perhaps larger distributor?
</h4><p>
I would like to see the development of platforms like Revry. My hope is that these platforms develop and form the viewership they deserve, so that then they're able to become partners in creating more content. I'm not necessarily thirsty to go and work with a big machine, but I'm not totally against it either.
</p><h4>Are you worried about potentially pigeonholing your career by focusing on queer content or working with a queer-oriented distributor?
</h4><p>
No, I don't really worry about pigeonholing my career, mainly because I think there are many different incarnations of queer stories that can be told. For a long time, queer people weren't able to tell their stories. I think we're going to start to see an expansion. So I'm looking forward to telling stories that just merely have queer characters in them. And where we're not necessarily calling it queer.
</p><h4>How do you see "Dating In Place" playing a role in that trajectory of telling broader queer stories?
</h4><p>
One of the interesting things in "Dating In Place" is that we don't actually ever refer to any of the characters as being queer. We never talk about it. I think that's a big step. And there's never any reference to there being any issues with parents or families when it comes to these characters' sexual identity.
</p><p>
The issue was just that these two girls met, they were going to go on a date, and then the pandemic hit, and now they're in completely separate countries, and they're dating online and falling in love but they've never seen each other or touched each other.
</p><h4>If not for OML on Revry, what do you think would have happened with "Dating In Place"?
</h4><p>
A lot of what happens to short-form content is it goes to festivals and then it goes to YouTube. And especially for queer content, that's kind of the death for the content creator, because queer content on YouTube is quite famously de-monetized. So the money that you're making on the clicks of queer content is, like, minus cents in comparison to other content that can maybe make like a dollar, or whatever. So I think without a platform like OML on Revry, a show like "Dating in Place" would have just gone on YouTube or Vimeo.
</p><h4>How else would you say having your show on OML on Revry is beneficial to you as a creator?
</h4><p>
The thing that I will say about the queer community, especially – consumers of queer content – is that they're very loyal. Once they become interested in your content, they are then interested in you and invested in you. As an artist and as a creator, that's really all you can ask for: people that are going to be there to view the content that you've made, and people that are going to be there when you make more.
</p><p>
I'm really excited for this platform to exist for this audience. Before, a lot of this audience, the fandom audience, kind of would just be scrolling through YouTube, clicking on tiny thumbnails trying to figure out, is this a queer-inclusive show? And now, hopefully, they will migrate over to a platform where they know that all of the content is queer-inclusive and queer-positive, and has been made for them. Hopefully, now this audience will find a home.
</p><p><em>This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.</em><br/></p>
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