Page 452 - CABSAT ENGLISH PR REPORT - FEBRUARY to MAY 2023

commissioning. It will also facilitate opportunities to explore other content funding avenues such as
brand integration, private investments, and product placement.

The first co-production, held in 2022, attracted more than 40 participating companies, including

reputed international platforms, TV channels, production houses, and private investors. This year’s
salon will be based in a dedicated meeting lounge that includes private areas to facilitate meeting,

networking, and discussing business opportunities.

CABSAT is once again working with the industry’s top content creators, producers and broadcast
technology providers, as well as satellite distribution and content delivery companies, to identify

common traits of success across all verticals that can serve as the blueprint for future growth.

Highlights from the previous edition of the co-production lounge included Roya TV from Jordan,

Egypt’s T-Vision, Morocco’s Image Factory, and Bright Lens Media from the Eastern Province of
Saudi Arabia as some of the participating companies, while the 2023 instalment will welcome both

Arabic and foreign film content looking to explore opportunities for co-production in long-form
entertainment content, co-funding entertainment content, and commissioning projects for OTT

Originals.

Commenting on her experience of the first-ever co-production Salon last year, Katerina Pshenitsyna,
deputy CEO at SMF Animation, one of the global giants in animation production and distribution,

said: “Last year’s event was spot-on. We are still actively looking for real co-production opportunities
in Arabic kids’ content. For the past 80 years, our content has been travelling worldwide, and now

that we have an established presence in the MENA region, we look forward to more content
partnerships that develop wonderful stories from this part of the world, for the region and beyond.”

Speaking in anticipation of this year’s event, Medhat Karam, CEO of Shofha, one of the region’s

fastest-growing OTT platforms, said: “Partnerships and collaborations are an integral part of our
company’s DNA. We sent the full team to attend last year, and we are planning to participate again

this year, with a focus on expanding our partnerships not only in content production, but also rights
sharing with other platforms.

“Our strength lies in our scalability; since we’re already very well-established in important mass

territories like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, we’re able to co-invest with our partners in great quality
content for a fraction of the market price. Also, we’re now rapidly expanding into other territories like

Africa, so economies of scale that we gain will naturally be passed on to our partners. At this

https://www.broadcastprome.com/news/cabsat-to-host-second-edition-of-mena-co-production-salon/