LBCI campaign champions Lebanese basketball teams at FIBA Cup 

LBCI campaign champions Lebanese basketball teams at FIBA Cup 
LBCI acquired exclusive broadcasting rights in Lebanon for major international and continental championships until 2025. (LBCI/Supplied}
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Updated 01 June 2023
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LBCI campaign champions Lebanese basketball teams at FIBA Cup 

LBCI campaign champions Lebanese basketball teams at FIBA Cup 
  • #OurWorldOurPlayground will be on screen, on LBCI’s website, and on digital platforms

LONDON: The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International launched on Thursday a campaign to support and inspire Lebanon’s three national basketball teams, which will be competing in three upcoming global tournaments.

The promotional campaign, “#OurWorldOurPlayground,” will be showcased on screen, on LBCI’s website, and on digital platforms, announced LBCI in a press statement.

Through an agreement with FIBA, the private television station has secured exclusive broadcasting rights in Lebanon for major international and continental championships until 2025.

LBCI said the campaign would seek to unite the Lebanese community, at home and abroad, rallying their support for the competing teams across the three world championships.

LBCI’s campaign will include promotional clips, special TV shows, and in-depth newscast coverage.

This coverage will feature exclusive interviews, unique stories, and reports involving renowned experts and male and female players supporting Lebanon’s presence on the global sports map.

The Lebanese women’s team is the only Arab team competing in the first stage of the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Sydney, Australia, starting June 26; the U19 team will compete in the first stage of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup commencing on June 24 in Hungary; and the men’s team will participate in the FIBA Basketball World Cup starting on Aug. 25 in Indonesia.


pple considered switching to DuckDuckGo from Google for Safari — Bloomberg News

pple considered switching to DuckDuckGo from Google for Safari — Bloomberg News
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pple considered switching to DuckDuckGo from Google for Safari — Bloomberg News

pple considered switching to DuckDuckGo from Google for Safari — Bloomberg News
  • Details of the talks expected to be released soon after a US judge's ruling on a federal antitrust suit against Google
  • DOJ claims that Google illegally paid $10 billion annually to smartphone makers to be the default in search on their devices

Apple held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Alphabet’s Google as the default search engine for the private mode on Apple’s Safari browser, the Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.
The details of the talks are expected to be released later this week, according to the report, after Judge Amit Mehta, overseeing a federal antitrust suit against Google, ruled on Wednesday that he would unseal the testimony of DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg and Apple executive John Giannandrea.
The talks about potential deals between Microsoft and Apple and DuckDuckGo and Apple will be unsealed, the report said, citing Mehta in an order from the bench.
Apple, DuckDuckGo and Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Last month, the US Department of Justice in a landmark US trial argued Google, which has some 90 percent of the search market, illegally paid $10 billion annually to smartphone makers such as Apple and wireless carriers like AT&T and others to be the default in search on their devices in order to stay on top.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified on Monday, saying that tech giants were competing for vast troves of content needed to train artificial intelligence, and complained Google was locking up content with expensive and exclusive deals with publishers.
He added that Microsoft had sought to make its Bing search engine the default on Apple smartphones but was rebuffed.


Manga Arabia to adapt popular Saudi novels into comics

Manga Arabia to adapt popular Saudi novels into comics
Updated 04 October 2023
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Manga Arabia to adapt popular Saudi novels into comics

Manga Arabia to adapt popular Saudi novels into comics
  • Manga Arabia has announced a collaborative project with the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission to adapt four Saudi novels into manga
  • Manga Arabia has released two magazines: Manga Arabia Youth and Manga Arabia Kids

DUBAI: The Saudi Research and Media Group’s Manga Arabia announced a collaborative project with the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission to adapt four Saudi novels into manga. 

On Oct. 4, Manga Arabia announced the project via a post on social media. The company has not yet revealed which four literary works are going to be adapted. 

Founded in 2021, Manga Arabia is a platform specializing in publishing and producing Arabic and Japanese manga. It has released two magazines: Manga Arabia Youth and Manga Arabia Kids. 

The commission was founded in 2020 to manage the literature, publishing, and translation sectors across Saudi Arabia. 


Riyadh’s Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University launches bachelor’s degree in cinema and theater

Riyadh’s Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University launches bachelor’s degree in cinema and theater
Updated 04 October 2023
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Riyadh’s Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University launches bachelor’s degree in cinema and theater

Riyadh’s Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud University launches bachelor’s degree in cinema and theater
  • Program to have ‘direct positive impact’ on creative industries in the Kingdom, says college dean
  • Restructure sees creation of cybersecurity, translation and psychiatry departments

LONDON: Imam Mohammed Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh has launched a bachelor’s degree in cinema and theater as part of the creation of a new department.

The Department of Cinema and Theater is part of the university’s College of Media and Communication.

The bachelor’s degree will train students in the arts of filmmaking and theater, while also ensuring that the content they produce is consistent with Saudi customs and culture.

Though details of the program have yet to be announced, the college is expected to offer courses in directing, filming and scriptwriting taught by both Arab and international experts.

The new department is part of a comprehensive academic restructuring of the university, which also includes the creation of new departments in cybersecurity, early childhood education, industrial engineering, psychiatry, radiology and translation.

The university has also merged the Higher Institute for Da’wah and Ihtisab with the College of Fundamentals of Religion under the new name of the College of Fundamentals of Religion and Da’wah.

Last year, Prince Saad bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud, dean of the College of Media and Communication, revealed the draft program in an interview with Arab News.

He said that the new degree would have a “direct positive impact” on the cinema and theater industry in the Kingdom through the training of a pool of skilled professionals.

The College of Media and Communication at IMSIU is one of the largest colleges in the Kingdom, and is the latest to cater to new specializations in the field.

A few years ago, the college launched a marketing advertising department, a graphics and multimedia department, in addition to departments covering journalism, radio and TV, and public relations.


Netflix plans to raise prices after actors’ strike ends

Netflix plans to raise prices after actors’ strike ends
Updated 04 October 2023
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Netflix plans to raise prices after actors’ strike ends

Netflix plans to raise prices after actors’ strike ends
  • WSJ reported that price increase will occur in ‘several markets globally’

LONDON: Netflix is planning to raise the price of its ad-free service after the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike ends, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, sending the streaming company’s shares up more than 3 percent.
Netflix is discussing raising prices in several markets globally, but will likely begin with the United States and Canada, the WSJ reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
It was not immediately clear how much Netflix will raise prices by or when exactly the new prices will take effect, according to the report.
Netflix declined to comment on the report.
Talks between the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents the studios, are ongoing, with their next meeting scheduled on Wednesday.
The writers’ union struck a tentative deal with the AMPTP last week after five months of failed negotiations.
Netflix cut prices of its subscription plans in some countries in February. In the same month, it laid out a plan to crack down on password sharing by subscribers that was rolled out in over 100 countries in May.


Social media platform X tests game streaming and live shopping features

Social media platform X tests game streaming and live shopping features
Updated 03 October 2023
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Social media platform X tests game streaming and live shopping features

Social media platform X tests game streaming and live shopping features
  • Elon Musk posts video of himself playing Diablo IV
  • Move may be attempt to lure streamers to the platform

LONDON: Social media platform X has started to test game streaming and live shopping features.

Elon Musk, X’s owner, posted a video of himself playing Diablo IV on the platform, demonstrating the new features of the X video game streamer system.

Musk wrote: “Tested the X video game streamer system last night. It works! Will try to complete a Tier 100 Nightmare Dungeon tonight live on this platform.”

Musk streamed his gameplay of Nightmare Dungeon, and wrote: “Testing video game streaming on X.”

The X broadcast lasted 52 minutes, of which the first dozen were spent setting up the stream.

The event, which was not advertised by Musk, was watched by a total of 20,000 people, with a peak of 1,300 concurrent viewers.

 

Separately, X has announced a new partnership with Paris Hilton to experiment with live shopping features.

X’s Broadcast feature, which allows users to stream live video, is part of the company’s plan to transform from a short-message website into a more comprehensive social media platform that includes long-form video and other features.

Musk’s testing of the new game-streaming feature suggests that he is trying to compete with Twitch, the leading game-streaming platform owned by Amazon.

Musk is also offering paying subscribers a share of the advertising revenue from their posts, which could lure Twitch streamers who are unhappy with Twitch’s monetization policies.

The gaming and esports industry has experienced exponential growth in recent years, with the Middle East and North Africa region being the fastest-growing area due to demographic and consumption trends.

According to data and analytics streaming platform Streams Charts, Arabic streamers were watched for 120 million hours in 2022 on Twitch, the most popular streaming platform in the region.

Given X’s strong regional presence in MENA, its move to launch game streaming and live shopping features could be a game-changer for the industry and a significant boost for the $38 billion investment strategy unveiled by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2022.

However, the full-scale rollout of these features has not yet been announced, and experts have raised concerns about whether X’s infrastructure can handle the new live video features.

Musk last week attempted to stream from the US border with Mexico, but the video feed abruptly cut out after about four minutes due to technical issues.