LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group division Entertainment Studios, one of the largest independent producers and distributors of film and television with 64 shows on the air and owner of 15 U.S. Big-Four network affiliate broadcast television stations and nine 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 160 million subscribers — including The Weather Channel television network and its AVOD free streaming service Local Now — proudly announces that seven of its global television networks now receive distribution in the United Arab Emirates on the du telecom platform, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC).  This distribution deal to launch 7 Entertainment Studios Networks channels on the du telecom platform was facilitated by SAWA Rights Management.

This first deal between Entertainment Studios Networks and SAWA Rights Management is part of an overall arrangement that will soon extend to other Middle East nations, including: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt, Tunis, Algeria, Morocco, and their respective territories, possessions, and commonwealths. Allen’s lifestyle networks add thousands of hours of entertaining content that is culturally friendly across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.  Focusing on travel, automotive, culinary, pets, comedy, celebrity entertainment, and courtroom drama, Entertainment Studios Networks delivers family-friendly programming that advertisers find compelling for their brands. The du platform is one of the two telecom operators in the United Arab Emirates. The company offers its customers fixed and mobile services, internet, digital television, and smart home services.

“The international demand for American content is a multi-billion dollar marketplace,” said Tom Devlin, President of International Television Sales/Marketing for Entertainment Studios. “We are excited to bring our portfolio of family-friendly lifestyle networks and programming to the Middle East and North Africa television markets for the first time as we continue to expand our network brands worldwide.”

The portfolio of seven Entertainment Studios Networks 24-hour HD global networks include:

• Cars.TV – This Emmy® Award-winning and adrenaline-pumping network showcases the collectors, designers, innovators, and the ultimate car enthusiasts! (www.Cars.tv)

• Comedy.TV – A network dedicated to today’s funniest comedians, featuring a mix of live concert performances, talk and variety shows, sitcoms and movies. (www.Comedy.tv)

• ES.TV – A network dedicated to entertainment news, variety shows, celebrity profiles and today’s hottest superstars. (www.es.tv)

• Pets.TV – A network dedicated to pet lovers everywhere. PETS.TV celebrates the pets we love and the people who love them. Pet News, Pet Care, Pet Health and Pet Lifestyles! (www.Pets.tv)

• Recipe.TV – An Emmy® Award-nominated network dedicated to famous chefs, amazing recipes, and delicious cuisine from around the world. (www.Recipe.tv)

• Justice Central.TV – A network dedicated to Emmy® Award-winning Judges and Emmy® Award-nominated court shows, legal news, and the world’s biggest trials.  (www.JusticeCentral.tv)

About Entertainment Studios / Allen Media Group
Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Raleigh. Entertainment Studios owns 15 U.S. Big-Four network affiliate broadcast television stations and nine 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 160 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, and JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV. Entertainment Studios will add its tenth network, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPANOL in 2020. Entertainment Studios also owns the LOCAL NOW streaming service, powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Entertainment Studios also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 64 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. Entertainment Studios International Television continues to extend the ES corporate branding and content around the globe. It currently has active license agreements and programming in South Africa, The United Arab Emirates, Australia, The Bahamas, Canada and New Zealand. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Entertainment Studios provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, multimedia platforms, and the World Wide Web. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.

Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017’s highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.

In 2016, Entertainment Studios purchased TheGrio, a digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. TheGrio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 20 million annual visitors. For more information, visit: www.entertainmentstudios.com

About SAWA Rights Management
SAWA Rights Management (SRM), a Dubai Media City company and part of the SAWA Group of companies, is a  strategic service provider to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Television industry, offering a wide range of services to broadcasters, Pay-TV Platforms, Hospitality,  IPTV/OTT Networks, Telecom Operators, ISPs and Independent Consultants. SRM represents TV Channels and content from a number of Regional and International licensors including FOX Networks Group (Disney), Lagardère, France TV, RTL, Channel One Russia, OSN, MBC, Rotana and many more. All in all SRM represents and licenses over 300 HD, SD and 4K TV channels making SRM the single largest supplier of TV Services to platforms in the MENA region. SRM manages the full relationship between Licensees (clients) and Licensors (TV Channels, Studios and other rights owners).  SAWA Group of companies include, SAWA Rights Management www.srmtv.com SAWA Media www.sawamedia.net and SAWA Technologies www.sawatechnologies.com.