MBC extends deal with Warner Bros. Discovery

Saudi broadcaster MBC Group has extended its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to continue bringing the latter’s content as well as adding new Cartoon Network offerings for audiences across the MENA region.

Sam Barnett

MBC’s newly-extended partnership with Warner Bros. will result in the group securing rights to broadcast the studio’s latest Hollywood blockbusters on MBC2 – its English-language movie channel for MENA – up to the year 2026.

This includes the showcase of first-run box office hits for a free-to-air TV channel, such as Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, It Chapter Two and Joker.

Major franchises that also form part of this extension include Batman, Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, and Lord of the Rings.

The deal also results in MBC expanding on its Cartoon Network offerings, by launching the Cartoon Network Arabia channel on Shahid – its Arabic streaming platform – for one year from September 2023.

English-language content will also be made available, with an additional 250 episodes of Cartoon Network content expected to be added to a brand-new Shahid Kids subscription video on demand (SVOD) Cartoon Network-branded hub. Titles including We Are Bears, Teen Titans GO!, The Amazing World Of Gumball, Coach Me If You Can, Tom & Jerry, and Looney Tunes will be updated on Shahid Kids every quarter.

Sam Barnett, CEO of MBC Group, said: “We have had a strong relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery for two decades and this deal cements it for years to come. The deal allows MBC Group to show some of the biggest theatrical titles by Warner Bros. to our audiences across the Middle East and North Africa and expand our Cartoon Network offering across the region. We’re delighted to maintain this partnership and we are looking forward to all the benefits it can bring both to our channels and to our streaming platform Shahid.”

Jamie Cooke, GM CEE, Middle East and Turkey at Warner Bros. Discovery said: “MBC is a highly valued and longstanding partner for Warner Bros. Discovery in MENA. We are happy to have found new ways to deepen our longstanding relationship while reinforcing our commitment to Free TV. This partnership with them allows us to offer our unparalleled collection of content and provide consumers with entertainment variety.”