Dubai - MENA Herald: His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) and Managing Director of Dubai Media Incorporated, inaugurated today MYCONTENT and Dubai International Brand Licensing Fair, part of the 9th edition of the Big Entertainment Show (BES), which is held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The events attract TV broadcasters, content producers, buyers, creative agencies, investors and licensors from the MENA region and the world.
After the opening ceremony, His Excellency along with a number of key officials and industry leaders have toured the exhibition area where they were introduced to the latest content productions, technologies and developments in the fields of brand licensing, TV and film productions.
Commenting on the significance of the event, Al Qamzi said demographic patterns and the strong popularity enjoyed by pay-TV in the Arab word and across the Middle East indicate remarkable opportunities for content providers, advertisers and brand licensors.
“The varied choices of Arab youth and diverse communities – for example, there are over 200 million Arab youth aged below 25 and Dubai alone is home to over 200 nationalities – have seen pay-TV subscriptions growing in spite of competition from online video. Improvements in the policy environment, particularly in protecting intellectual property, will further encourage content suppliers and pay-TV channels to sharpen their focus on the region,” Al Qamzi added.
On the sidelines of the opening ceremony, Eng. Anas Al Madani, Vice - Chairman and Group CEO of INDEX Holding commented: “The MENA region is witnessing a great demand for TV content that is evident in the increase in the number of pay-TV households which grew in 2015 by 10% to reach 4.95 million households. According to a report issued by London-based firm IHS, this increase has prompted a 37% year-on-year revenue rise from subscriptions to 1.17 billion euros ($ 1.33 billion) last year.”
He continued: “IHS forecasts that pay-TV subscribers in the MENA region will gradually increase in the coming years, to touch 6.54 million pay-TV households by 2020.”
Eng. Anas Al Madani concluded: “For the 7th year, MYCONTENT continues to address this increasing demand by gathering local and international content suppliers, buyers, independent producers, broadcasters, and satellite and mobile operators under one roof in the thriving city of Dubai.”
Held in conjunction with MYCONTENT, The Dubai International Brand Licensing Fair (Licensing Dubai) is the Middle East’s only brand licensing marketplace featuring a vast collection of properties and brands. Some of the exhibiting companies for Dubai International Brand Licensing Fair this year are Arabian Licensing Company, Mondo TV, and M4e.
The events attract this year more than 80 companies from 65 countries like the UAE, South Korea, China, Egypt, Bahrain, Argentina, Lebanon, Morocco, Singapore, India, France, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom, Sweden, Turkey, the United States and Japan.
MYCONTENT and The Dubai International Brand Licensing Fair, part of the Big Entertainment Show (BES) are scheduled to run until 15th of November, 2016 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The events are organized by INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions Organization Est. – member of INDEX Holding, and it is supported by Gulfvision, Arabsat, Dubai Film & TV Commission, National Media Council, Arab Asia Entertainment Content & Licensing Alliance.
