Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios Networks Completes First-Ever Network Distribution Deal in the Middle East and North Africa

LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Byron Allen Allen Media Group division entertainment studiosone of the largest independent film and television producers and distributors with 64 shows on air and owner of 15 Big-Four Network-affiliated U.S. television stations and nine 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly of 160 million subscribers – including The weather channel television network and its free AVOD streaming service local now — proudly announces that seven of its global television networks are now distributed in the United Arab Emirates on the telecom platform of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC). This distribution deal to launch 7 Entertainment studio networks channels on the telecom platform was facilitated by SAWA Rights Management.

This first agreement between Entertainment studio networks and SAWA Rights Management is part of a global agreement that will soon extend to other Middle East nations, including: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and their respective territories, possessions and commonwealths. Allen’s Lifestyle Networks adds thousands of hours of entertaining content that is culturally respectful across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Focusing on travel, automotive, cooking, pets, comedy, celebrity entertainment and court drama, Entertainment studio networks offers family-friendly programming that advertisers find appealing to their brands. The du platform is one of the two telecom operators in the United Arab Emirates. The company offers its customers fixed and mobile services, Internet, digital television and smart home services.

“The international demand for American content is a multi-billion dollar market,” said Tom Devlin, president of international television sales/marketing for entertainment studios. “We are excited to bring our portfolio of family lifestyle networks and programs to the Middle East and North Africa television markets for the first time as we continue to expand our network brands around the world.”

The wallet of seven Entertainment studio networks 24-hour HD global networks include:

Cars.TV – This Emmy® An award-winning, adrenaline-pumping network showcases the ultimate car collectors, designers, innovators and enthusiasts! (www.Cars.tv)

Comedy.TV – A network dedicated to today’s funniest comedians, featuring a mix of live concerts, talk and variety shows, sitcoms and movies. (www.Comedy.tv)

ES.TV – A network dedicated to entertainment news, variety shows, celebrity profiles and today’s hottest superstars. (www.es.tv)

Animals.TV – A network dedicated to animal lovers everywhere. PETS.TV celebrates the pets we love and the people who love them. Pet news, pet care, pet health and pet lifestyles! (www.Pets.tv)

Recipe.TV – An Emmy® Award-winning network dedicated to celebrity chefs, amazing recipes and delicious cuisine from around the world. (www.Recipe.tv)

Justice Central.TV – A network dedicated to Emmy® Award-winning judges and Emmy® Award-nominated court shows, legal news and the world’s biggest lawsuits. (www.JusticeCentral.tv)

About Entertainment Studios / Allen Media Group
President and CEO Byron Allen based entertainment studios in 1993. Based in Los Angelesit has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlantaand Raleigh. entertainment studios has 15 television stations affiliated with the American Big-Four Network and nine 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 160 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MADESTINATION.TVand JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV. Entertainment Studios will add its tenth network, THE WEATHER CHANNEL IN SPANOL in 2020. Entertainment Studios also owns the LOCAL NOW streaming service, powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, who provide real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports and lifestyle information. entertainment studios also produces, distributes and sells advertising for 64 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for television stations. International Entertainment Studios Television continues to expand ES corporate branding and content around the world. It currently has active license agreements and programming in South AfricaThe United Arab Emirates, AustraliaThe Bahamian, Canada and New Zealand. With a library of over 5,000 hours of content held across multiple genres, entertainment studios provides video content to television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, multimedia platforms and the World Wide Web. Our mission is to provide great programming to our Fortune 500 viewers, online users and advertising partners.

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service motion picture distribution company specializing in wide-release commercial content. ESMP released the highest-grossing independent film of 2017, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWNwhich brought in more than $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released Western to commercial and critical acclaim. HOSTILES, historical mystery thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS BELOW: NO CAGE. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a leading multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and experienced sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a veritable home for independent films.

In 2016, Entertainment Studios purchased LeGrioa digital video-centric news community platform dedicated to providing African Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national media. LeGrio offers aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics including breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was later purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has over 20 million annual visitors. For more information visit: www.entertainmentstudios.com

About SAWA Rights Management
SAWA Rights Management (SRM), a Dubai Media City company and part of the SAWA group of companies, is a strategic service provider for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Television industry, offering a wide range of services to broadcasters, pay TV platforms, hospitality, IPTV/OTT networks, telecom operators, ISPs and independent consultants. SRM represents television channels and content from a number of regional and international licensors including FOX Networks Group (Disney), Lagardère, France TV, RTL, Channel One Russia, OSN, MBC, Rotana and many more. others. In total, SRM represents and licenses over 300 HD, SD and 4K TV channels making SRM the largest provider of TV services to platforms in the MENA region. SRM manages the entire relationship between Licensees (customers) and Licensors (TV Channels, Studios and other rights holders). The SAWA group of companies includes, SAWA rights management www.srmtv.com SAWA Media www.sawamedia.net and SAWA Technologies www.sawatechnologies.com.