STARZPLAY’s Maaz Sheikh Awarded Middle East ‘Media CEO Of The Year 2019’

STARZPLAY, the number 1 subscription video on demand (SVOD) service in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has been credited for its strong management team which has led the company to its market leading position as Maaz Sheikh wins CEO Middle East’s Media ‘CEO of the Year 2019’ and features in the Financial Times Future 25 List this month.

The awards ceremony was held at The Waldorf Astoria, DIFC, Dubai and was attended by some of the region’s leading business people and decision makers. The awards recognise the most successful and innovative CEOs in the Middle East, honouring top performing leaders who have delivered outstanding business results, as well as those that have made a vital contribution to the vibrancy of business and the economies of the MENA region, from a variety of industry sectors.

In the same month, STARZPLAY has featured in the Financial Times Special Report on the top 25 digital businesses to watch in the MENA region. The inaugural FT Future 25 Middle East list, which includes Careem, sought to identify innovative companies that are disrupting their sectors and thriving.

Maaz Sheikh, CEO and Co-Founder at STARZPLAY, said: “It’s a real honour to have been recognised as Middle East Media CEO of the Year at this year’s CEO Middle East awards. I have to say that we could not have achieved what we have in the last five years without our people – so I’d like take this opportunity to thank the entire team for their commitment and hard work.”

He continued: “Our performance as highlighted by the section of the editorial team at the FT to include as a innovative company , disrupting out sector, and underlines the success of our strategy which has been threefold with a focus on content, the user experience and range of convenient payment options that are tailored to local market needs.  It’s been a remarkable journey since our inception, and we look forward to continuing to drive value for the remainder of 2019 and beyond – one of the exciting developments around the corner will be the launch of our original content in the near future to further enhance viewing choices available to our customers.”

Earlier this year, STARZPLAY was cited as the region’s leading platform in terms of subscriptions for the second consecutive year, according to the IHS Markit ’Pay and Online TV Report MENA 2019’. Its performance has been recognized as a winning combination of exclusive content and the company’s ability to secure deals from telecom operators and device manufacturers regionally, enabling it to have achieved impressive growth across the region.