More than 900 Exhibitors from 60 Countries at Region’s Leading Media and Content Platform
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: CABSAT 2015, the leading platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media and satellite sectors across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), was officially opened today by His Highness Sheikh Hasher Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Information.
With more than 900 exhibitors from 60 countries descending on the region’s premier media and content event, Al Maktoum was guided through the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) exhibition by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and CEO, DWTC.
CABSAT 2015 is expected to attract more than 13,000 local, regional and international media industry professionals over three days – a reflection of global optimism in a Middle East and North Africa (MENA) media market expected to grow from US$16 billion in 2014 to US$24 billion in 2019 according to Strategy & Analysis of Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC).
“In addition to being a strategic entry-point for international companies eyeing expansion in the burgeoning regional media landscape, CABSAT is a pioneering knowledge exchange platform that empowers regional companies to better understand global trends, adopt innovative products and implement internationally-tested monetisation strategies to deliver growth opportunities,” said Trixie LohMirmand, Senior Vice President, Exhibitons & Events Management, DWTC.
The opening day of CABSAT 2015 also featured a world-class line-up of heavyweight industry talent debating a host of topics in eight gripping sessions at the CABSAT & NAB Show Collaborative Conference.
Corey Bridges – one of the original directors who launched Netflix in the USA, a former SVP of Marketing for Hollywood visionary James Cameron’s firm CAMERON | PACE Group (CPG), and the current CEO of Lifemap Solutions – delivered the Conference’s keynote address. Bridges’ engaging remarks came less than 24 hours after Apple announced Lifemap Solutions had partnered with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to produce an Asthma App for ResearchKit – an open source software framework designed for medical and health research.
“The rapid development witnessed in the technology and media industries in Dubai and the wider Middle East echoes the risk tolerant culture which has embodied decades of pioneering success in Silicon Valley,” said Bridges. “Taking risks is the primary enabler in delivering innovation and I encourage regional companies to embrace the bustling, frontier culture in which they operate, encourage risk and tolerate failure. My career has touched on a lot of technology opportunities and, via my keynote speech at CABSAT, I wanted to draw a through-line across my experiences to illustrate how the high-tech work Lifemap Solutions is doing in the mHealth space is pertinent to innovative, monetisation opportunities across the region’s broadcast, media and content sectors.”
Elsewhere, the future of digital broadcasting, evolutions in content absorption, a raft of disruptive technologies and various strategies to monetise content delivery and distribution avenues were high on the agenda for speakers from a host of satellite firms, Telco’s, technology companies and media houses – both visionary independents and mega corporations. The roll-call of speakers included senior representatives from Al Jazeera, MBC Group, Zee Entertainment, Yahsat, Yahlive, Selevsion, icflix, Huffington Post, Abu Dhabi Media, Sony Music ME and FOX International, amongst others.
Conference attendees also received an exclusive state-of-the-industry report worth USD$3,495 on ‘Trends in Broadcast and New Media Video in Middle East and North Africa’ prepared by Frost & Sullivan, the Knowledge Partner of CABSAT 2015.
Open free-of-charge to business and trade visitors only, CABSAT 2015 is open from 10am to 6pm on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 March, and 10am to 5pm on Thursday 12 March. Visit www.cabsat.com to find out more.