The partnership, effective from January 2020, aims at extending the advertising reach of both the companies across the MENA region.
ATL Media, the commercial arm of Zee Entertainment Middle East and other networks, has appointed Promofix, a subsidiary and digital arm of the Lebanese J Group, to become its sales representative in MENA region, excluding UAE and Egypt. This strategic partnership involves exclusively Zee’s Arabic channels, Zee Aflam and Zee Alwan.
In the Middle East, Zee launched its first channel in 1994 and currently has diversified channels entertaining all audiences, three South Asian channels, Zee TV, Zee Cinema and Zee Keralam, while Zee Aflam and Zee Alwan are two dedicated channels for the Arab audience that showcase local Arabic content, besides Arabic dubbed Indian and Turkish content.
Commenting on the partnership, Manoj A Mathew, Territory Head, Zee Entertainment MENAPT said: “This tie-up contributes to the growth plans of Zee’s business in the region and in-line with its strategy. The popularity of Zee Aflam and Zee Alwan in the MENA region is proof of the viewers’ interest in the channels’ offering. Thus, it is the perfect time to unlock revenue streams in other markets and we are excited to collaborate with Promofix in our expansion plans.”
Mukund Cairae, COO International Broadcast Business at Zee Entertainment, added: “Zee is a pioneer of the satellite TV revolution in India. It started with a single channel in 1992, and currently enjoys a strategic presence in 90% of the globe. Internationally, Zee launched 10 dedicated non-Indian language channels offering content to our audiences in their local languages, Arabic, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Tagalog, Thai and Bahasa.”
Imad Jomaa, Founder and President of JGroup, remarked: “BeIN Sports, one of the world’s biggest sports broadcasters along with BeIN entertainment channels were added to Promofix media offerings in 2019. The latest addition of Zee Aflam and Zee Alwan, together with Lebanese popular Al Jadeed TV, Shazam, Snapchat, Sizmek, Bucksense, Sharkiya and Summaria will reinforce our presence in the ad sales market in MENA.”
