Latest news with #OSN
Campaign ME
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Campaign ME
Advertising in the Middle East: Bravery, buzz and bold ideas
There's a different kind of energy in the Middle East. It's not the type you find in trend reports or cultural decks. It's faster, louder, and more committed to the power of a big idea. A big energy rooted in bravery and ambition; this mindset has made the region a creative proving ground for some of the world's most ambitious experiential work. In a market where every brief starts with 'a world first' or 'never seen before' expectations are high, and attention is earned through action with bravery and creativity and it doesn't have the luxury of playing it safe. The best work here is daring, deeply expressive, and often logistically outrageous, and that's exactly what makes it effective. Bravery We've had the chance to create experiences that historically only this region would embrace. We've projected dragon holograms over the pyramids for OSN and HBO. We shout beyond traditional launch events by helicoptering an unseen BMW M5 over the Dubai skyline to launch it against the city itself. To break through the noise of the world cup we needed something that had never been done before so we created a floating football pitch in the desert during the Qatar World Cup. Buzz These ideas weren't built to check boxes. They were built to ignite conversation, grab attention, and deliver an emotional impact that stays long after the event ends. It's important to note that none of them would have worked without clients who were ready to trust us and the region's instinct for scale, drama, and Middle East Energy. Because while the rest of the world still talks about purpose and authenticity, the Middle East has moved forward. The conversation here is less about what's true, and more about what's possible. That shift, from authenticity to entertainment and shared emotion is key to why this region stands apart. People may value what's true, but they remember what moved them, in other words people don't make decisions based on what's logical, but what feels meaningful. That logic applies everywhere, but in the Middle East, it's amplified. Bold ideas It's not just that the region rewards ambition. It expects it. Brands that thrive here are those that show up with courage, not caution. They understand that success in experiential marketing isn't found in strategy decks or recycled ideas, it's built in real-time, with the understanding of what people want to feel. Experiences must be dynamic, rooted in local relevance, and executed with a level of craft that turns heads and earns attention. That mindset has shaped the way we think about scale. Big isn't just a tactic. It's a necessity in a market where cultural conversations are already loud. In this context, experiences are designed not just to be seen, but to be shared, talked about, and remembered. These aren't gimmicks. They're actions. They show the world what's possible when creative ambition meets cultural momentum. They prove that experiential marketing doesn't need to sit on the sidelines of a brand strategy, it can lead it. Too often, global brands arrive with ideas that have already worked somewhere else. Safe concepts. Predictable activations. But what works in London or New York doesn't always translate. The Middle East demands a different rhythm. A faster pace. A creative process that isn't afraid to rewrite the brief halfway through because something more exciting came up. This flexibility is one of our region's strengths. It creates space for instinct and spontaneity, two qualities that don't always sit easily within traditional marketing structures. But when the conditions are right, they produce results that traditional thinking never could. For global marketers watching the region the message is simple: if you want to understand the future of experiences, don't just study the Middle East, get involved. Partner with teams who know the pace and pressure. Trust the feeling over framework. It's a mindset and a new understanding for what audiences want, what brands can do, and what creativity looks like when you stop playing safe, Middle East energy is where bravery and madness thrive, and that's exactly what the world needs more of right now. By Simon Walsh, Executive Business Director, LIGHTBLUE.
Khaleej Times
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Streaming trends 2025: Are weekly episodes replacing the binge?
For years, streaming taught us to binge. Entire seasons dropped in one go, the 'Next Episode' button eliminated cliffhanger suspense, and weekend marathons became the norm. But now, something surprising is happening — especially among Gen Z: the weekly drop is back, and it's not just working — it's winning. Take The Last of Us Season 2 on OSN+, a gritty, emotionally devastating post-apocalyptic series that concluded after a seven-week run on May 26 in the UAE, becoming a Monday ritual across the Middle East. The show didn't just dominate timelines — it's dominated time. One episode a week. No skipping ahead. No spoilers unless you dare. What changed? This is the generation long believed to crave instant gratification — the same cohort known for skipping intros, doubling playback speed, and abandoning a series two minutes in. Yet they're showing up week after week for slow-burn television, emotionally raw narratives, and serialised suspense. Why? Because binge culture may have offered control, but the weekly drop delivers community. According to OSN+, Gen Z viewers in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) are choosing weekly drops over binge dumps; 47 of the top 50 most in-demand shows in early 2023 in MENA followed a weekly or staggered release model. TikTok and the rise of episodic attention Ironically, the same Gen Z that's glued to TikTok's short-form content is helping drive this shift. TikTok, once known for its 15-second dopamine hits, has evolved into a platform of mini-episodic storytelling. Viral multi-part sagas like the 'Who Did I Marry?' series or real-life 'Storytime' confessions span five, ten, sometimes twenty clips — and viewers stick around. These aren't just passive watches; they're participatory. Viewers stitch reactions, drop theories, and stay hooked until the final reveal. Sound familiar? It's the same energy fueling weekly appointment TV. In Gen Z's own vernacular, 'it's giving… community.' Weekly drops vs. the binge: What platforms are doing Streaming services have started to take notice and vary their release strategies accordingly: Netflix remains synonymous with binge culture (Bridgerton, Baby Reindeer, Selling Sunset) — often dropping entire seasons at once. But it has flirted with the weekly format for reality shows like The Circle and Love Is Blind, using cliffhangers and staggered episodes to fuel online buzz. It also drops seasons in parts; for instance, makers of Stranger Things released seven episodes of their hit show's fourth season on May 27, 2022, and the remaining two episodes on July 1, 2022. Disney+ almost exclusively releases episodes weekly for major titles like The Mandalorian, Loki, and The Acolyte, leaning into fandom discussion and long-tail engagement. Amazon Prime Video often uses a hybrid model. Shows like The Boys and Invincible premiere with two or three episodes, then shift to weekly drops. HBO/Max (and by extension OSN+ in the Middle East) is a purist in this space, famously championing weekly releases for shows like House of the Dragon, and now The Last of Us. The result? A groundswell of online chatter, theories, and emotional build-up that just doesn't happen with full-season dumps. Each model serves a purpose, but there's a growing appetite for the slow-burn — especially when the story deserves space to breathe. When The Last of Us S2 premiered on OSN+, fans weren't just watching — they were posting, reacting, and predicting. Major character arcs — like the divisive arrival of Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever), or the emotionally loaded moments with Joel (Pedro Pascal) — became weekly conversation starters. TikTok exploded with edits and think pieces; Reddit threads broke down symbolism, flashbacks, even line delivery. This isn't just consumption — it's participation. Each episode becomes a cultural event, a shared pause in the chaos of content overload. And in a world where everything moves fast, the wait becomes a feature, not a flaw. The return of the weekly drop isn't just a throwback — it's a digital coping mechanism. It builds anticipation. It invites reflection. It lets stories sink in. For a generation bombarded with stimuli, the wait might just be the magic. Binge culture trained us to race. Weekly TV is teaching us to feel. What do you prefer? Binge watching or weekly episode drops.
Web Release
02-06-2025
- Business
- Web Release
Samsung's AI Home experience sets a new standard for connected living in the region
Samsung's AI Home experience sets a new standard for connected living in the region Samsung Gulf Electronics unveiled its AI Home, an immersive concept experience showcasing the brand's latest innovations in home entertainment, appliances, and connected living, all powered by SmartThings. Hosted in a villa-style smart home, the exclusive launch event highlighted Samsung's commitment to transforming everyday routines into intelligent, connected experiences. Doohee Lee, President, Samsung Gulf Electronics, said, 'At Samsung, we believe the home of the future is not just about individual devices but about intelligence that connects them. With Samsung AI Home and the SmartThings platform, we are demonstrating how homes can think, respond, and evolve to meet unique lifestyles and needs. Samsung is committed to enriching everyday life by unifying the power of our smartphones, TVs, and appliances to deliver truly integrated, intelligent experiences. Our vision is fully aligned with the UAE's ambition to be a global hub for AI-driven innovation. We are proud to support the nation's strategy by offering AI solutions that reduce energy consumption, prioritize personal wellbeing, and raise the bar for sustainable, future-ready living.' The experience featured eight lifestyle zones built around real-life scenarios, from movie nights powered by the latest supersize Neo QLED technology to connected kitchens and productivity-enhancing workspaces – all connected by SmartThings, Samsung's global IoT platform, orchestrating a multi-device ecosystem with a single, intelligent interface. In the visual display segment, Samsung unveiled its full 2025 TV and soundbar line-up, setting a new benchmark for AI-powered entertainment. Samsung's latest Bespoke AI home appliances feature innovations combining aesthetics, intelligence, and energy efficiency. The AI Home display is expanded to a broad range of new products, such as Bespoke AI Refrigerators, the Bespoke AI Laundry, Washers and Dryers. Samsung's latest Odyssey monitor lineup introduces next-generation display technologies engineered for both high-performance gaming and modern multitasking. The event also spotlighted Samsung's expanding network of strategic partners. e& brought enhanced connectivity and smart infrastructure to the AI Home experience. OSN powered a zone of world-class content and Dolby Atmos delivered theater-like audio across multiple demonstration zones. Vuz reimagined the viewing experience with immersive 360-degree content technology. With AI Home, Samsung is redefining how technology makes life more intuitive, immersive, and intelligent. Discover the full 2025 product lineup and explore Samsung's latest innovations at
The National
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Mountainhead spoiler review: Ending explains what HBO film is really about
The world is a comedy to those who think and a tragedy to those who feel. Horace Walpole coined that phrase, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong quoted it in his review of a book on disgraced crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, and his new film Mountainhead brings that sentiment to life. Mountainhead is a film built for the moment – and these days, moments are more ephemeral than ever. That's precisely why Armstrong, rushed his idea for a fictional summit between tech billionaires to the screen in a matter of months. He pitched it to HBO in December, filmed it in March, and released it today on OSN+ across the Middle East. The film stars Ramy Youssef, Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell and Jason Schwartzman as four of the world's most powerful – and self-declared 'smartest' – men, each with a different claim to fame. It's not based on a true story, but it clearly draws from reality. Randall (Carell) is an elder statesman financier in the style of Peter Thiel, Jeff (Youssef) is an AI entrepreneur like Sam Altman, Venis (Smith) is the richest man in the world who owns a major social media app similar to Elon Musk. Schwartzman, meanwhile, plays a character call 'Souper' – short for soup kitchen, due to his significantly lower net worth. The film is entirely set at a house in the Rocky Mountains, where the four old friends meet for a weekend of fun and end up becoming consumed by the impact of Venis's latest product – generative AI that can create undetectable deepfakes. Within hours of its launch, the world descends into chaos – with inflammatory uses of the tech causing mass violence across the world. Their reactions are naive and self-interested, to say the least. Armstrong has long been interested in the workings of power. But after the conclusion of Succession, and in preparation for his review of Michael Lewis's book Going Infinite, chronicling the rise and fall of Bankman-Fried, he grew obsessed with those on the cutting edge of new technology – men who were changing the course of human history with a hastily-cobbled philosophy guiding their way forward. The venal Prometheans in Mountainhead speaks the language of this philosophy – they talk reverently of 'first principles', for instance – an idea that guides many in the tech space, including Musk. First principle thinking in tech involves boiling down complex problems into their most fundamental, indisputable truths to build new solutions from the ground up – rejecting all orthodoxy completely. The success that the Mountainhead billionaires – who call themselves the Brewsters – have found in life has led them to believe that they have it all figured out. They see themselves as the world's true leaders – and they have their fingers on the buttons that can bend the world to their will. And in their minds, all their actions are for the greater good. The future they are working towards is transhumanist – in which the consciousness of every person on earth will be uploaded into the cloud to exist in a state of bliss. In the meantime, they believe their every innovation will solve all the world's problems and heal all wounds – despite all evidence to the contrary, and with little depth to their analysis. 'Once one Palestinian kid sees some really bananas content from one Israeli kid – it's all over!' Venis remarks. In Succession, Armstrong needed to make his lead characters somewhat sympathetic for the sake of keeping viewers on board for a long-term narrative – here he has no such necessity and chooses not to. The only one with any semblance of a conscience is Youssef's Jeff, who realises his AI detection tech holds potentially the cure to the info-virus that Venis has just unleashed into the world. Youssef, who is an outspoken activist for peace in Palestine in real life, is a knowing bit of casting – but his character proves to be just as corruptible as the rest. Youssef's performance as he captures those layers proves to be the best turn of his career. This all could have become something more akin to a Black Mirror episode if Armstrong had wanted to, but that's just not what interested him. It seems at first that things will play out as a spin on the work of Ayn Rand (the title is a play on Rand's The Fountainhead, after all), with the world's most powerful literally removing themselves from society completely as the world burns. Instead, it becomes a darkly comic spin on Hitchcock film Rope. Before that, the film does toy with the idea of what these men may do if they decided to wield the levers of power at their disposal completely – they consider staging a coup of the United States, buying a country such as Haiti and 'relocating' its inhabitants and turning it into their own state, and more – but these plans are forgotten when they decide that their real problem is Jeff. Jeff wants Randall to push Venis out from his company and stop the world from burning, giving his own AI detection tech to the government for regulatory purposes. Randall, on the other hand, has incurable cancer, and Venis promises him that he will be the first to have his consciousness uploaded to the cloud. Randall then conspires with Venis and Souper to kill Jeff – and they speak about his murder with the same euphemistic Silicon Valley speak. It is there that the film's real message starts to emerge. Yes, these people may be brilliant in many ways, and yes, they may truly believe in their moralistic ambitions. But they are still human, as much as they may pretend to have transcended the rest of humanity. There are still guided by fear, jealousy and pride. They are still capable of stupidity, as much as they feel their net worth inoculates from it. As a result, the techno babble and first principles talk become another tool which they use to get what they want – a lie they tell themselves, each other, and the world. This is a film about the hubris and folly of man – the only true constant in an ever-changing world. They worship 'progress' – and the progress they want is whatever grants them more power. They don't kill Jeff, in the end. After locking him in a sauna, filling it with gasoline and threatening him with a match, they force him to sign over his company to them. And the next morning, when the dust settles, Jeff comes to breakfast with only moderate disgust for his friends. When Jeff goes to leave, Venis follows him, offering him a partnership – to integrate Jeff's tech into Venis's destructive tech to make it even more powerful, and bring about the transhumanist world that they always wanted. Jeff agrees, dropping all of his previously held moral qualms – his only condition being that they cut Randall out completely as an act of revenge. To them, this is all a comedy. They have lost the ability to feel and have no concern for the well-being of humanity. They don't need to create a secret Randian retreat to separate themselves from society – they have already separated themselves in their minds. As a result, we can infer, their actions from here will never take humanity's well-being in concern – and for everyone else, this will become a tragedy. They do the thinking, but the rest of us must feel the consequences. Ultimately, this is the most cynical work yet from Armstrong, and may prove to be his most divisive. But as far as food for thought, there's plenty here to chew on – just be careful of the bitter aftertaste.
Broadcast Pro
19-05-2025
- Business
- Broadcast Pro
OSN partners with Magnite to launch addressable TV advertising
Magnite's SpringServe will manage ad delivery for MENA-based broadcaster. OSN has chosen Magnite, the independent sell-side advertising company, to power its new 'Advanced TV' advertising solution. This marks the first time OSN will offer addressable advertising across its set-top box (STB) linear broadcast and video-on-demand (VOD) inventory. Using Magnite's SpringServe video platform, targeted ads will now be delivered to OSN set-top boxes across the MENA region. By opening its premium linear and VOD content to addressable advertising, OSN enables brands to reach highly engaged, brand-conscious audiences with personalised, measurable campaigns. SpringServe's ad server equips OSN with advanced tools to manage and distribute ads that were traditionally limited to digital platforms, expanding advertiser access to OSN's direct-to-home households—audiences often difficult to reach through free-to-air TV or free streaming services. Hamid Davari, Director – Ad Sales at OSN, said: 'As the digital landscape evolves in MENA, buyers are increasingly focused on solutions to drive campaign efficiency. With our differentiated STB a mainstay in our overall strategy, it was important to us to find a partner who could help us meet the unique needs of buyers in this market and unlock the value of this inventory. Magnite stood out not only because of the caliber of their technology but also for their collaborative and solutions-oriented approach to meeting our business needs. We look forward to working with them to deliver more impactful and data-driven advertising experiences.' Leon Siotis, SVP, Business Development, International at Magnite, added: 'We're pleased to be working with OSN, a premier broadcaster in MENA, to help them unlock the full value of their inventory and bring previously untapped supply to advertisers. With programmatic expected to grow quickly in MENA over the next several years, we're committed to driving innovation and efficiency to bring value to publishers and buyers in the market.'
