Streaming service, Vuclip partnered with Jordan’s Roya TV to stream Click, a 30-episode show, as part of its Ramadan lineup, which included eight new shows. Produced by Roya TV and executed by Film Wa Telfaz Productions, Click’s characters represent popular social media platforms. For instance, among the four protagonists, is Saudi Arabian stand-up comedian, Mohammad Bin Raffa, who plays the character ‘Saif Book’ based on Facebook. Egyptian actor Ali Subhy plays ‘Ahmad Goobel’ based on Google.

Speaking about the partnership with Viu, Fares Sayegh, General Manager at Jordan’s Roya TV, explained: “We approached Vuclip with the initial proposal. We will definitely produce more such series, both long and short form content, some local and others based across the region. I believe many of the series will be suited for OTT platforms. SVOD is also a good avenue for our content. Having a broadcaster share the rights for Ramadan with VOD platforms is a great business model. Click will be available on our VOD platform as well.”

Commenting at the time of announcing the Ramadan specials, Wesam Kattan, Vice President Content & Brand Marketing, Vuclip MENA had said that “Viu is globally committed to working with local talent in the region” to grow the entertainment industry by providing a premium platform for talent to showcase their work.

“Our region has so much talent that lives only on social media, and during Ramadan we wanted to give these individuals a chance to be part of a bigger production. We undertook a rigorous content development process to provide the best selection of content during Ramadan that fits the lifestyle of our core target audience,” he remarked.

Earlier this year, on the sidelines of the Dubai-edition of DISCOP, Sayegh explained that there was a sense in the market that content is sometimes “too local and there is no way we can redistribute the content”.

“Today the market has changed completely,” he commented.

“We are seeing great opportunities for local content. This will help increase the quality of productions. Moreover, there is a decreased interest in regional content as not being creative enough or as something that is thrust on the audience. Regional channels are also considered direct competitors to the SVOD channels whereas local channels work hand in hand with SVOD.

“Our main priority is comedy, drama and then reality shows, short and long form. We have continuous budgets for content creation that we showcase on our TV channels and then move to VOD.”