Inside OSN Streaming’s digital transformation

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A year after OSN rebranded its streaming platform WAVO to OSN Streaming, it has unveiled a brand new digital-first platform. (Screenshot)
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Updated 25 July 2021
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Inside OSN Streaming’s digital transformation

  • How OSN delivered a digital-first product in six months

DUBAI: A year after OSN rebranded its streaming platform WAVO to OSN Streaming, it has unveiled a brand new digital-first platform, putting technology and content at its core.
In October 2020, OSN Streaming changed its look and feel, but the technology remained the same. It was around the same time that the company decided to digitally overhaul the platform, delivering an entirely new user experience. 
“My early estimation was that we need to have 12-18 months,” Peter Riz, chief technology officer at OSN, told Arab News.
However, six months was a “very aggressive timeline” for a development such as this, he added. Riz and his team had to devise a hybrid approach using six different modules to achieve this vision. The next step was to find a way to bring together the modules in a seamless manner, because running them separately was not sustainable or cost-effective.
The two key areas of the rebrand were multiple user profiles — including dedicated children’s profiles — and content presentation focusing on enhanced search and discovery.
Content presentation and discovery were critical to the user experience, said Riz. The first layer was presenting content to each user based on the general interests of that audience segment determined by factors such as age and location. 
The second and more challenging layer was navigating personal user preferences. For example, Western expats generally watch movies and shows from the West, but also like watching certain Arabic dramas, explained Riz. The platform was also designed to learn from user behavior and tailor recommendations over time.
Riz said: “We wanted to show users the content we believe is relevant, so the question became: How do we do this quickly, and how do we give all this control to the editorial and marketing team?”


The answer came in the form of a custom technological component called the Customer Experience Builder (CXB). “The CXB is a new type of innovation from a technical point of view,” added Riz, because it enables the company to add new features and updates to various touchpoints — such as the mobile app, web browser, and TV apps — through one common system.
Digital disruption has been driven, in part, by a rapid change in user behavior, making it more important than ever before for companies to be able to adapt and improve their digital services quickly.
“OSN was not only able to deliver this new platform very quickly using the CXB, but we can continuously improve the experience,” said Riz. From building the CXB from scratch to writing new code, the new platform is a technological innovation for OSN.
“We changed the entire environment,” said Riz. “There is no legacy code in the new environment so every line of code that the engineers created to deliver the service is new.”
Since the launch of the new platform, OSN has been making tweaks through the CXB suite every two weeks. “Most of the logic, or ‘magic’ as we sometimes call it, happens on the backend,” he added.
Although these changes are almost imperceptible to users, they have a profound impact on how people discover and watch content on the platform, said Riz, resulting in OSN doubling content consumption on the platform.
Streaming companies reached their peak during the coronavirus disease pandemic, as more people spent time indoors and cinemas shut down. The surge in new users has forced these platforms to innovate in order to sustain their growth.
So, what is next for these companies?
“The real differentiator is still the content and how we present this content,” said Riz. “We are continuously working to find new content sources and secure current partnerships.”
Streaming platforms, including OSN, are also looking for new kinds of partnerships that will see them diversifying into gaming and audio. OSN, for instance, partnered with multi-player video game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG) to provide PUBG Mobile players an exclusive opportunity to access the OSN Streaming app.
On the technology side, OSN continues to measure multiple factors such as streaming quality, load time, lags, or delays, to constantly improve the user experience. When there is a new update on any operating system, the company immediately runs tests to see if it affects the performance of the OSN Streaming platform. It is also working on adding alternative payment methods, in addition to credit cards, to the platform.
But, behind it all, “you need to continue that invisible, seamless and perfect technology,” said Riz.
It is all about “continuous improvement and continuous innovation to bring the content to the audience, increase the partnerships and support the entire digital economy to grow and unlock all the potential in the region,” he concluded.


Internet watchdog says Turkiye restricted social media access after Istanbul mayor’s arrest

Updated 3 min 3 sec ago
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Internet watchdog says Turkiye restricted social media access after Istanbul mayor’s arrest

  • NetBlocks reported that users were unable to access X, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok on Wednesday
  • The incident comes after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and dozens of others were detained on corruption charges, which the opposition claims are politically motivated

LONDON: Turkiye restricted social media access on Wednesday following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, according to internet watchdog NetBlocks.

In a post on X, the London-based organization that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance said that “multiple social media platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok” had seen their “reachability” — a user’s ability to connect to a specific website — decline significantly.

“The incident comes as Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and dozens of others are detained in events described by the opposition as a ‘coup,’” it added.

State-run media reported that Turkish police arrested Imamoglu as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and terror links, just two days after a university invalidated his diploma. Anadolu Agency also reported that prosecutors issued warrants for 100 other people.

Authorities closed several roads around Istanbul and banned demonstrations in the city for four days in an apparent effort to prevent protests following the arrest.

A key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Imamoglu’s arrest has been condemned by critics who see it as an attempt to bar him from running as a presidential candidate.

Turkiye has previously imposed internet shutdowns during times of political and social tension.

In 2024, authorities were accused of tightening internet control ahead of local elections. Social media and communication platforms were also blocked in November 2022 after a bombing in Istanbul, and again in February 2023 following two major earthquakes that devastated southern Turkiye, killing more than 50,000 people and collapsing parts of the telecommunication network. The outages hampered search and rescue operations and the coordination of humanitarian aid.

Commenting on the latest restrictions, Isik Mater, an internet activist and director of research at NetBlocks, said: “Access to information is a fundamental right, especially during moments of political crisis.”

She added: “Restricting social media platforms at a time when elected officials are being detained not only undermines transparency but also fuels public uncertainty. These shutdowns prevent critical communication and violate freedom of expression.”


Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit

Updated 19 March 2025
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Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit

  • Italian daily Corriere della Sera published a letter to the editor from Francis, signed and dated March 14 from Rome’s Gemelli hospital

ROME: Pope Francis said in a letter published Tuesday that his lengthy illness has helped make “more lucid” to him the absurdity of war, as his top deputy rejected any suggestion of resignation and Buckingham Palace announced plans for an upcoming audience with Britain’s King Charles III.
Italian daily Corriere della Sera published a letter to the editor from Francis, signed and dated March 14 from Rome’s Gemelli hospital where the 88-year-old pontiff has been treated since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection and double pneumonia.
In it, Francis renewed his call for diplomacy and international organizations to find a “new vitality and credibility.” And he said that his own illness had also helped make some things clearer to him, including the “absurdity of war.”
“Human fragility has the power to make us more lucid about what endures and what passes, what brings life and what kills,” he wrote.
Responding to a letter from the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Luciano Fontana, Francis also urged him and all those in the media to “feel the full importance of words.”
“They are never just words: they are facts that shape human environments. They can connect or divide, serve the truth or use it for other ends,” he wrote. “We must disarm words, to disarm minds and disarm the Earth.”
The letter was published as Francis registered slight improvements in his treatment and as the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, shot down any suggestion the pope might resign.
“Absolutely no,” Parolin told journalists on Monday when asked if he and the pope had discussed a resignation. Parolin has visited Francis twice during his hospitalization, most recently on March 2, and said he found Francis better than during his first Feb. 25 visit.
Also on Tuesday, Francis received a standing ovation from the Italian Senate, after Premier Giorgia Meloni sent her greetings and said “not just this chamber, but all of the Italian people″ wish the pope a full recovery “as soon as possible.”
Meloni, who was the first outsider to visit the pope after he was hospitalized, said that “even in a trying moment, his strength and guidance have been felt.”
Francis for the second day spent some time off high flows of oxygen and used just ordinary supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube, the Holy See press office said Tuesday. In addition, for the first time in several weeks he didn’t use the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night at all, to force his lungs to work more.
While those amount to “slight improvements,” the Vatican isn’t yet providing any timetable on when he might be released. That said, Buckingham Palace announced Monday that King Charles III was scheduled to meet with Francis on April 8 at the Vatican, assuming he is back and well enough.
Such state visits are always closely organized with Parolin’s office. However, the Vatican press office on Tuesday declined to confirm the visit, noting that the Holy See only confirms papal audiences shortly before they happen.
The developments came as the Vatican released some details on the first photograph of Francis released since his hospitalization. The image, taken Sunday from behind, showed Francis sitting in his wheelchair in his private chapel in prayer without any sign of nasal tubes.
The photo, showing Francis wearing a Lenten purple stole, followed an audio message the pope recorded March 6 in which he thanked people for their prayers, his voice soft and labored.
Together, they suggested Francis is very much controlling how the public follows his illness to prevent it from turning into a spectacle. While many in the Vatican have held up St. John Paul II’s long and public battle with Parkinson’s disease and other ailments as a humble sign of his willingness to show his frailties, others criticized it as excessive and glorifying sickness.
The image certainly reassured some well-wishers who came to Gemelli to pray for Francis, who is recovering in the 10th-floor papal suite reserved for popes.
“After a month of hospitalization, finally a photo that can assure us that his health conditions are better,” said the Rev. Enrico Antonio, a priest from Pescara.
But Benedetta Flagiello of Naples, who was visiting her sister at Gemelli, wondered if the photo was even real.
“Because if the pope can sit for a moment without a mask, without anything, why didn’t he look out the window on the 10th floor to be seen by everyone?” she asked. “If you remember our old pope (John Paul II), he couldn’t speak up, but he showed up.”


Manga Productions looks to attract Japanese investment for Riyadh Season

Updated 19 March 2025
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Manga Productions looks to attract Japanese investment for Riyadh Season

  • New pact inked with entertainment firm Sela
  • Promotions to take place at Anime Japan 2025

RIYADH: Manga Productions, a subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, or Misk, has signed a new strategic partnership with the Saudi Arabia entertainment company Sela.

The partnership aims to strengthen collaboration with renowned Japanese companies and create new opportunities for their participation in Riyadh Season, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

Potential collaborations will enable Japanese companies to engage with Saudi Arabia and international audiences through events and experiences in the Kingdom with the facilitation of Manga Productions, the SPA reported.

In 2022, Sela unveiled a 33-meter-tall statue of the anime character Grendizer, which set a Guinness World Record during Riyadh Season of that year.

This year, Manga Productions announced its official sponsorship of Anime Japan 2025, one of the world’s leading events in the creative industry.

During the event from March 22 to 25, the company’s booth will promote investment opportunities, according to the SPA.

This article also appears on Arab News Japan


Sharjah Media City offers new ‘Mazeed’ service for entrepreneurs

Sharjah Media City is offering a new service called Mazeed. (Supplied)
Updated 18 March 2025
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Sharjah Media City offers new ‘Mazeed’ service for entrepreneurs

  • It provides a wide range of tailored options that simplify set-up and expansion of small and medium-sized businesses, to help foster innovation and creativity
  • Strategic partnerships with several business-services companies offer seamless access to essential financial and operational services and tools

SHARJAH: Sharjah Media City, also known as Shams, is offering a new service, called Mazeed, designed to empower entrepreneurs and provide integrated solutions for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The new service offers a wide range of tailored options that simplify the formation or expansion of a business, including financial solutions, digital marketing, legal consultancy and operational services, Shams said, to help foster an environment that promotes innovation and creativity in support of a thriving business ecosystem, it added.

“The launch of Mazeed aligns with Shams’ strategy to support entrepreneurs and enhance entrepreneurship in Sharjah and the UAE by providing practical solutions that simplify business management, reduce operational costs and promote sustainability and growth,” Shams said.

Rashid Abdullah Al-Obad, the director of Shams, said the new service represents a step forward in the enhancement of digital innovation in the business environment.

“Mazeed aims to simplify the journey of entrepreneurs, enabling them to focus on growing their businesses instead of dealing with complex operational procedures,” he added.

“The launch of Mazeed aligns with Sharjah’s vision to support a sustainable economy and foster investment while enhancing the customer experience by offering innovative services that effectively meet the needs of the business sector.”

Shams also said it has formed strategic partnerships with business-services companies Aura, Peko and Qashio to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with seamless access to essential financial and operational services, to help ensure that business owners have the tools they need to optimize operations.

Aura will provide access to flexible financing solutions, including invoice financing for business-to-business transactions and installment payment plans for licensing fees. Such services offer greater financial flexibility, which helps businesses maintain operational stability and drive growth.

Through Peko, businesses can access essential business services such as utility bill payments, mobile bill management, flight and hotel bookings and payroll processing. Peko also offers advice on digital business tools, such as WhatsApp for Business and electronic signatures, that can simplify operations.

Qashio focuses on advanced financial-management solutions, including expense management, virtual bank account creation, and a rewards system using Qashio Points. The partnership also includes a revenue-sharing model.

Shams said Mazeed will continue to form new strategic partnerships in various sectors as part of its strategy to expand the services on offer to entrepreneurs, and more announcements are expected soon.

The aim of such collaborations is to drive business innovation and provide cutting-edge solutions that help support the sustainability and growth of startups in the UAE, it added.


Saudi wildlife documentaries receive top honors at Muse Creative Awards

Updated 18 March 2025
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Saudi wildlife documentaries receive top honors at Muse Creative Awards

  • ‘Guardians of the Red Sea: The Hidden World Beneath,’ ‘Hope is Growing,’ ‘Horizon’ each win 2 platinum awards

LONDON: Three documentaries showcasing Saudi Arabia’s wildlife have won a total of six platinum awards at the Muse Creative Awards, which honor excellence in innovative and creative filmmaking worldwide, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

“Guardians of the Red Sea: The Hidden World Beneath” earned two platinum awards in the Nature and Wildlife, and Documentary categories, while “Hope is Growing,” which explores the propagation and reintroduction of endangered species, secured platinum awards in the Music Film and Nature, and Wildlife Films sections.

“Horizon,” which was produced in collaboration with the Center for Government Communication, took platinum awards in the Cinematography, and Documentary Film tracks.

Established in 2015 by the International Awards Associate, the Muse Creative Awards have become one of the most prestigious events in digital media, design, and marketing, attracting over 100,000 entries from more than 120 countries.

The award-winning films showcase the Kingdom’s rich biodiversity and natural landscapes, helping to raise public awareness of environmental conservation. They also underscore Saudi Arabia’s ongoing efforts to protect wildlife, preserve ecosystems, and promote sustainable environmental practices.

Arab News hosted a special screening of the “Horizon” documentary at the residence of the EU ambassador in Riyadh in April 2024, where Abdullah Alahmari, CEO of the Konoz initiative, and Yazeed Albader, associate producer of the documentary, were honored. Speaking at the event, Princess Lamia described the film as “not only a celebration of Saudi Arabia’s rich natural heritage but also a call to action — a reminder of our shared responsibility to protect and conserve the precious ecosystems that define our world.”

Now available on streaming giant Netflix, “Horizon” is part of a collaboration between the Ministry of Media’s Center for Government Communication, and the National Center for Wildlife, celebrating the rich natural diversity of the Kingdom.

Several other Saudi entries were also recognized at the ceremony, including “Start Your Championship,” a film which chronicles the first national Olympics in Saudi history; “Challenge is Our Nature,” a documentary which follows the Dakar Rally in the Kingdom; “Race the Sunset,” a celebration of youth spirit and culture during the GT race in Jeddah; and “We Race the Future,” a film about the Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah.