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FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) today announced it has opened its first office in the Middle East. Anahita Kheder, VP Middle East, has been appointed to head up the new office, which will be based in Dubai. Kheder will report to FME’s Mark Newton, EVP Licensing EMEA. She will work closely with Jamie Lynn, SVP Distribution – Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa to offer consolidated content packages to broadcasters in the region and maximise ancillary rights for FME’s extensive content portfolio, with a focus on formats, kids and family entertainment and non-TV properties. In a deal brokered by Lynn for FME, MBC Group, the region’s leading broadcaster, and the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World, will launch a local version of FremantleMedia and 19TV’s Idols format later this year. Kheder is currently working closely with both MBC Group and its commercial arm, AMS (Arabian Media Services), to secure globally recognised brand sponsors for the series. Cross-media sponsorship deals have already been signed with General Motors, L’Oreal, Pepsi and Mars. FME’s EMEA CEO, Mel Alcock, commented, “This new office will enable us to deliver so much more for our broadcaster clients in the Middle East. As a great example, Anahita has already developed a close relationship with MBC and AMS, allowing FME to forge a real partnership around Arab Idol and help deliver sponsorship packages that work for brands commercially across a variety of platforms.” David Ellender, FME’s Global CEO, added, “The Middle East is currently one of the fastest growing markets globally and we’re looking forward to building on our existing relationships there. This new office, our 12th worldwide, will allow us to manage our formats even more effectively and maximise commercial opportunities across even more platforms.” Prior to joining FME, Kheder, who has over 11 years’ experience working in the Middle East, held marketing positions within the music and sport industries before specialising in branded entertainment and entertainment marketing. Her most recent experiences include exploitation of IP portfolios across TV, music and sport with projects such as Paris Hilton’s BFF Dubai, FREEJ, Lionel Messi, and regional recording artists. Earlier this year, FME announced an unprecedented multi-year deal with MBC Group in which it licensed the highly successful Idols format as well as the Got Talent format for an additional two seasons and completed a three-year volume deal on FME’s tape catalogue. The first series of Arabs Got Talent debuted on MBC4 in January 2011, achieving higher ratings than any other talent show in the region. In recent years MBC Group has broadcast a number of hit FME programmes such as America’s Got Talent, Celebrity Apprentice, Project Runway and the epic drama series Merlin. |
