Snap Expands Discover In The Middle East With 18 New Shows

Today, Snap announces it is significantly expanding its slate of local content in the Middle East and North Africa. Airing on Snapchat Discover over the coming weeks, Snapchatters in the region will have 18 new Shows and 9 new seasons of Shows available to enjoy and subscribe to.

The slate includes content from new partners such as Telfaz11, bringing two of its hit shows – Top5 and Al Khallat – to the platform. Saudi Broadcasting Authority is bringing the best goals and highlights from the Saudi Pro League. Dubai TV and Online Lifestyle Network and are launching new Shows. There are several renewals of popular Shows, such as the Tarek Show from Rotana Media Group, House of Comedy from TREND and Without a Filter from Al Aan TV.

These new Shows bolster the already strong range of Arabic language content watched by Snapchatters in the region and all over the world. The platform now offers more than 450 premium content channels worldwide, with leading television networks, entertainment studios and content creators reimagining popular series for Snapchat. Shows are a full screen, made-for-mobile type of storytelling. They feature motion graphics, split screens, quick cuts and are inspired by the expressive way Snapchatters talk to their closest friends.

Rami Saad, Head of International Content Partnerships at Snap:

“We reach over 90% of all 13-34-year olds in Saudi Arabia, so it’s only natural for us to continue to expand what is available here. We continue to be amazed by the creativity of our partners and we know our community is going to be thrilled with these new Shows.”

Zeinab Abu Alsamh, Chief Commercial Officer, Saudi Broadcasting Authority:

“We are very happy with our partnership with Snapchat. We had an exciting start and there’s a lot more to come! Specially that we’re in an era where people are engaged with social and communication platforms. A large number of our audience in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East are using Snapchat every day, and so we look forward to continuing this collaboration that will give our audience an enjoyable screening experience in the future.”

Alaa Fadan, Chief Executive Officer, Telfaz11:

“As Telfaz11 continues to reach its audience wherever they are, it was a natural decision for us to be on Snapchat given its massive popularity in Saudi Arabia. Our partnership with Snapchat allows us to extend our pop culture influence through our unique style of storytelling to even more fans in the Kingdom and beyond.”

Firas Kablawi, Channels Marketing and Development Director, Rotana Media Group:

“Once again, we are happy to be bringing more Rotana content to Snapchat Discover. Snapchat is one of the most prevalent platforms in the Arab region, notably in the GCC. Our younger audience enjoy watching made-for-mobile episodes of their favorite Rotana TV shows there. Shows like ‘Tarek Show’ have been hugely popular on the platform. Other shows currently available on Snapchat are also very much consumed by Snapchatters; these include ‘Shark Tank’ in Arabic, popular talk shows such as ‘Al Liwan’ and ‘Fi Al Soura’ and our hit comedy series ‘Shabab Al Bomb’. We are excited to announce that we will be adding new programs to our Snapchat roster like ‘Koora’ and we are happy to continue sharing great content with Snapchatters in the region and beyond.”