Starz Play Arabia, the SVOD service offered in 19 countries in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, said it has landed a “multi-million dollar” funding investment led by existing investors, including SEQ Capital, and new investors that include Delta Partners Capital.
The fresh funds come about 18 months after Starz Play commenced operations. It will use the investment to finance Starz Play’s service expansion, the pursuit of more partnerships, and licensed content additions.
The service features more than 5,000 hours of Hollywood movies, TV shows, documentaries, and children’s content. Series include Power,Black Sails and Ash vs Evil from the service’s original investor, Starz, as well as Showtime’s Billions and Ray Donovan. Other content partners include Disney, Warner Bros, Son, Paramount, BBC Worldwide and CBS. Star Play also offers about 1,200 hours of dedicated Arabic content and more than 2,200 hours of movies and series dubbed into French.
Starz Play hasn’t announced an exact subscriber count, but CEO Maaz Sheikh said in a statement that the service now has a “six-figure subscriber base” in the MENA region.
Starz Play noted that it has achieved double-digit month-on-month revenue and sub growth since the launch. The company said it has hosted more than 17 million site visitors in October 2016.
“This funding demonstrates the continued confidence our current investors have in STARZ Play,” the exec added. “We’ve raised the bar for subscription video on demand services in this region and these new funds will enable us to further enhance our content and technology offering.”
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The multiplatform Starz Play service supports iOS and Android mobile devices, PC browsers, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, PlayStation 4 consoles, and Samsung smart TVs.
