Abu Dhabi Supports "Stars Play" in Middle East by $25 Mln

Starsplay platform gained $25 Million From Abu Dhabi-Based Fund to focus on strengthening its geographic and customer reach, acquisition and production of original content. It is considered a Middle Eastern competitor of Netflix Inc, according to bloomberg report published on Tuesday.

Moreover, The funding marks Ruya Partners’ first tech investment in the United Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, the number of subscribers at Starzplay currently stands at 1.8 million, with a local market share of more than 32%, after what it described as “exceptional growth” last year. Online streaming platforms around the world had an unexpected windfall in 2020 when the lockdowns prompted by the Covid-19 outbreak brought a flood of users.

On other hand, “Where global players and platforms meet challenges and difficulties, we see opportunity and hope,” Maaz Sheikh, chief executive office of Starzplay, said. “We localize the experience, we localize the content offering like no other global platform and that’s really been the key to our success.”

In contrast, Starzplay raised $125 million in equity funding since its launch in 2015 from State Street Global Advisors and STARZ, a company owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp. Noteworthy, Ruya Partners established last year, is partly owned by Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, which itself is formed through a joint venture between Mubadala Investment Co. and Falcon Edge Capital.