Ali Jaber takes over from Tim Riordan at MBC Group

MBC’s Group TV Director Tim Riordan, who is well known for negotiating many of the content acquisition deals with Hollywood Studios for the network, will retire from his position at the beginning of October. His position will be taken over by another high profile figure, Ali Jaber, who has held several simultaneous roles as advisor to the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Telecommunications, TV consultant at Dubai Media Incorporated and as Dean of The Mohammed Bin Rashid School for Communications (MBRSC)  at the American University of Dubai.

Riordan, who will continue to be a special advisor to MBC’s chairman and Board, caused a stir in the market two years ago when he stated that the free-to-air TV business model was the only profitable model in the Middle East. MBC Group has been the most successful television network in the region and its success has been attributed to the huge variety of content it provides across different genres.

Ali Al-Hedeithy, MBC’s Group Director General called Riordan “a pillar of the MBC Group for many years”.

“He made his mark particularly in the launch of MBC’s western content channels. However, we have also benefitted from his wide ranging experience across all areas of the Group. Tim’s leadership, his ability to make things happen from studio deals to channel launches, and his readiness to innovate – have been a big asset for MBC. We’re delighted that Tim has agreed to stay in an advisory capacity to MBC Chairman and Board.”

Ali Jaber will assume his new role at MBC from September. He will join MBC’s team of Group Directors that manage the Group’s activities across many different media and platforms.

Ali Al-Hedeithy stated that Jaber’s “background, his wide ranging achievements in the industry and his years of experience will bring added value to the Group and will further enrich our team of Group Directors”.