American internet services giant Yahoo has signed a distribution agreement with Saudi media conglomerate Rotana, the largest media company in the Arab world.
The deal, one of the largest-ever cooperation agreements between US and Arab communications providers, means that Arabic speakers across the globe will now be able to access Rotana’s music, film, TV and radio channels via Yahoo’s various internet services.
“This is an exciting and important development for Yahoo Middle East as we continue to strengthen and support Arabic content on the internet, and introduce more innovative and locally relevant content and products for our consumers in a highly engaging platform,” Ahmed Nassef, VP and managing director of Yahoo Middle East, told The Media Line.
The deal is Yahoo’s second major Middle Eastern media acquisition, made just one year after Yahoo purchased Maktoob.com, the Arab world’s largest online portal.
Yousef H. Mugharbil, president of Digital Media at Rotana, said the Yahoo deal will expand opportunities for the company. .
“As the region’s largest entertainment company for quality Arabic content, we are always looking to sustain a healthy growth in our audience numbers,” he said in a statement. “Yahoo’s entertainment network is the ideal platform to utilize for the ever-growing Arab online world.”
While films and music videos are forbidden by Saudi Arabia’s strict religious establishment, Rotana has managed to grow into the largest Arabic media company in the world, with a number of TV and radio stations, a record label with more than 100 Arab artists, and film operations across the Middle East and North Africa.
Some pundits attribute the relative freedom enjoyed by the company to the political influence of its owner, Saudi Arabia’s richest man Prince Waleed bin Talal. With an estimated net worth of $19 billion, the prince is ranked by Forbes Magazine as the 16th richest person in the world.
Saudi media analyst Ahmed Egal told The Media Line that the deal meets both parties’ needs.
“It makes sense because Rotana has been looking for an internet platform and Yahoo gets access to Rotana’s client base, which is young and tech savvy,” Egal told The Media Line.
The Rotana deal is likely to help Yahoo launch a number of value added services such as mobile-friendly content and increased TV-over-internet content.
“Rotana already has a strong following via satellite TV across the region,” Egal added, pointing out that Rotana’s material will now be available to a wider audience.
According to Rotana, the company’s satellite channels hold 20 percent of the market in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, generally considered to be the two most important media markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
After signing a deal with Disney in December 2009, Rotana hoped to boost its market share to 30 percent. According to the deal, Disney movies and programs were made available to Middle Eastern viewers on Fox channels.
Both Fox and Disney are owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The owner of Rotana, Price Alwaleed Bin Talal, holds a major stake in News Corporation.
