Veteran TV govt Sam Barnett is stepping down as CEO of best Center East broadcaster and streamer MBC Staff and Mike Sneesby, former CEO of Australia’s 9 Leisure, has been appointed his successor.
Barnett, who led MBC for greater than two decades in two separate stints, has been instrumental to MBC changing into a big Center East participant in each the linear and streaming spheres.
Barnett is becoming a member of PPF Staff’s Central Ecu Media Enterprises as its Prague-based CEO. CME runs 46 TV channels in six Central and Jap Ecu international locations – Croatia, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Slovenia – in addition to streaming carrier Voyo.
Sneesby left 9 Leisure, which spans TV, streaming and newspapers, in September 2024 following months of turmoil together with the passing of a body of workers no self assurance movement towards him and the gang’s board of administrators.
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Sneesby used to be up to now co-founder of Australian streamer Stan and its CEO from 2015.
Sneesby’s appointment to guide MBC Staff comes because the Saudi-owned team is on a enlargement trajectory after floating a ten% stake at the Riyadh inventory alternate on the finish of 2023 and gaining expanding traction on its streaming facet.
The Saudi govt owns a 60% stake in MBC whilst the remainder is held via MBC Staff chairman Waleed bin Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim, who based the pan-Arab satcaster that operates main top class streamer Shahid VIP.
“Sam Barnett has performed a key function in rising our team right into a regional marketplace chief throughout the aggressive media and leisure business. I want him nice good fortune in his transfer to Europe,” Al-Ibrahim stated in a remark. “Having a look forward, now we have formidable enlargement and enlargement plans, and I’m assured that Mike Sneesby, together with our stellar workforce, will propel the gang to new heights,” he added.
Commented Sneesby: “MBC leads the best way in media around the area and we will be able to proceed our enlargement with expanding world have an effect on. We will be able to ship in this via innovation, creativity, virtual transformation and our persevered dedication to the manufacturing of world-leading content material with contemporary and compelling storytelling.”
Streaming is booming around the Center East and North Africa (MENA) area, the place the OTT subscription video marketplace, led via MBC’s Shahid, generated revenues estimated at $1.2 billion in 2024, in step with media analyst Omdia, which expects the MENA marketplace’s on-line video and TV marketplace will keep growing in 2025.
