More than 36 compelling films, TV series, and animation projects from nine countries in the Arab world were pitched to more than 100 buyers and production partners as part of the co-production salon.
DISCOP Dubai concluded last Thursday, having attracted 565 participants at its first edition since the pandemic. The three-day market brought together 89 companies offering content, formats, and adaptation rights and 184 programmers and acquisition and commissioning executives representing 121 MENA broadcasters, premium channels, pay-tv services, OTT platforms, and telcos.
While the rest of the entertainment industry is struggling to find its feet again slowly, the MENA region has moved the full throttle to catch up with the rest of the world. A significant change has been a shift in focus from linear channels to OTT channels and streaming that gave local producers opportunities that broadcasters never offered.
A strong focus on co-productions also gained a lot of traction during the event. More than 36 compelling films, TV series, and animation projects from nine countries in the Arab world were pitched to more than 100 buyers and production partners committed to investing in and promoting creators from the Arab world.
Speaking about the success of the co-production salon, Heba Korayem, Content Market Consultant, H Consult said: “I’ve personally witnessed four deals being negotiated and closed in just the couple of hours that I was within those walls on the second day. It makes me happy because that’s investment in Arabic entertainment happening right there. If there was one thing that I’m super proud of – it would be the vibe of the place. We had some really popular companies hang out at the Salon, such as people from Shahid, StarzPlay, beIN, OSN, Dubai TV, Abu Dhabi TV and so on. Equally, we had an amazing turnout from what I call the “rising stars” – those are the Arabic production houses that came prepared with some solid pitches. Put these profiles together in one space and the positive vibe put a huge smile on everyone’s face. I’ll be releasing some numbers soon.”
The 2023 edition of DISCOP Dubai will take place at the beginning of May, a few days after the end of Ramadan. Final dates will be announced shortly.
