Iman khatibzadeh Iranian Entrepreneur Owner Proshot will launch Filmpot streaming service in Middle East

Filmpot, which is to make Dubai its headquarters, also has plans to form a joint venture with an Indian company for production of films and serials

Proshot, a Belgium-based media company, is set to launch its streaming service Filmpot in the UAE with focus on local content, the top executive of the company said.

The move to focus on local content, sector experts said, could potentially trigger a realignment in the multi-billion dollar, fiercely competitive over-the-top (OTT) market in the Middle East.

Filmpot also has plans to form a joint venture with an Indian company for production of films and serials for its streaming operations.

“We plan to launch the Filmpot streaming app in the UAE in August. Our app will be engineered to be as inclusive as possible to make it compatible with all smart TVs and IPTV boxes and therefore will be available for viewing throughout the Middle East and beyond,” Iman Khatibzadeh, founder and chief executive officer of Proshot Media, told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview.

“We will be different from the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime as we will be streaming movies from Hollywood, Bollywood, Iran, etc. dubbed in Arabic. We will also have Arabic movies with subtitles in English, French and Farsi,” said Khatibzadeh, an Iranian-origin entrepreneur settled in Belgium for the last 20 years.

Khatibzadeh said though Proshot, the holding company, is based out of Belgium, he has plans to make Dubai the headquarters for Filmpot.

“This is because we plan to focus mainly on the Middle East market, unlike Netflix and Amazon Prime which are mainly targeting the US and Europe,” Khatibzadeh said.

“The Middle East is a significant cultural melting pot and can prove to be a thriving market for any media production company. There is enormous variety within the region, and this yields a diverse range of sub-industries, each of which can have an active market base.

“This is one vital element that Filmpot has recognised and integrated into its business plan,” Khatibzadeh said.

Iman Khatibzadeh, founder and chief executive officer of Proshot Media

He said Filmpot also aims to create a professional and premium video-on-demand (VoD) service for the Middle East region.

Khatibzadeh said his company was working on this project – foray into the Middle East through the UAE route – for the last three years and realised that Arab market needed a professional VoD service.

“Filmpot is a product that is coming at the best time to fill a market gap. The team at Filmpot will prove that good content can come out of any place, regardless of how far removed it is from the mainstream market,” Khatibzadeh said.

Khatibzadeh said they have already raised $20 million from private investors and internal resources for the company’s launch operations in the UAE.