Warner Bros Discovery has announced a minority investment in Dubai's OSN Streaming, driving its presence in the Middle East.
The deal will “reinforce its commitment to the region's fast-growing landscape” the US global media and entertainment conglomerate said on Monday. Warner Bros will pay $57 million for a third of OSN Streaming – known to viewers as OSN Plus – said Joe Kawkabani, chief executive of parent company OSN Group.
"They're making a big statement. They're endorsing the story of OSN," he said, which has gone through big changes over the past three years. It has transformed from a pay TV network to streaming, to the launch of OSN Plus and the separation of OSN TV.
The deal will be conducted in stages and is subject to conditions that include regulatory approvals.
"The angle of the deal is not financial. It's strategic," Mr Kawkabani told The National. Content production, knowledge transfer, and expanding in the region and globally together is the main benefit, he added.
"Where they are counting on us is for everything related to localisation ... localisation of the service, local taste, etc."
Jamie Cooke, executive vice president and managing director for Central Europe, Turkey and the Middle East at Warner Bros, said: “OSN has been a great partner and custodian of our content, making this a natural step for WBD."
“Through this deal, we’re delighted to announce that both OSN and Warner Bros Discovery will invest in high-quality, locally produced content, ensuring a richer and more diverse offering for viewers.”
Creating a local slate of premium content that is differentiated from the rest of what's available is the goal of the deal, with content that is relatable to Middle East audiences. It will also create content from the region that is original to a global audience, he added.
"They want some specific regional stories, and we believe that the market here as well needs to see premium content basically similar to HBO content, or other premium content Warner produces, but about local stories," Mr Cooke said.
Mr Kawkabani said OSN will be able to expand its investment in local content and “broaden its reach beyond Mena to a global audience” on back of the deal. In the reverse, OSN aims to tap into WBD's about 117 million subscribers. Disney+ carries about 124.6 million subscribers while leading streaming platform Netflix has about 302 million.
Streaming is very fragmented and competitive space, globally and regionally, he explained. "This is why we're looking at Warner Brothers and saying, together, we're better than apart," he added.
Monday's announcement of Warner Brothers' seat at the table on OSN is not an all-sum matter, said OSN's chief executive.
"It's not at the stage today of saying we know exactly that we're going to be producing two things, and it's going to be x and y. No, no, it's a whole slate. It takes time to develop," said Mr Kawkabani. "That takes multiple years.
"The intention is, right now, that the shareholders sit together and put together an actionable plan," he added.
The partnership between the companies extends years before today's announcement. In May last year, OSN signed a deal with Warner Bros that guaranteed it exclusive regional rights to all new content from Max Originals and first premiere rights to Warner Bros Pictures. This opened the path for major films such as Barbie and Dune: Part Two to be on OSN platforms.
OSN Streaming merged with regional home-grown brand, the Nasdaq-listed Anghami, in late 2023, where OSN Group paid $50 million. The deal was set to bring in $100 million, 120 million registered users, and also 2.5 million paying customers.
Before that, the Dubai-based streamer signed a multiyear licensing agreement with HBO, owned by Warner Bros., to stream content from the American pay TV network in 2022. This is in addition to exclusive film catalogue rights last year.
In the case of Warner Bros, Monday's announcement marks its latest investment into a regionally founded and based streaming service. Its previous acquisition was in 2023 when it fully acquired Turkish streaming service BlueSky, Turkey's first local subscription video-on-demand service.
OSN Group operates in 22 countries offering local TV series and films delivering content over platforms including OSN+ and Anghami. Warner Bros is available in more than 220 countries and includes products such as CNN, Discovery Channel and TNT Sports.
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
Racecard
6pm: The Pointe - Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m
6.35pm: Palm West Beach - Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (T) 1,800m
7.10pm: The View at the Palm - Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.45pm: Nakeel Graduate Stakes - Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
8.20pm: Club Vista Mare - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,900m
8.55pm: The Palm Fountain - Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
9.30pm: The Palm Tower - Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (T) 1,600m
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
