News

Warner Bros. Discovery Invests In OSN Streaming To Expand MENA Reach

The move follows an exclusive deal between OSN and HBO in 2022 and its recent acquisition of a majority stake in music platform Anghami.

Published

1 year ago

March 24, 2025

Nour Nasir

warner bros discovery invests in osn streaming to expand mena reach

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has acquired a stake in OSN Streaming Limited, a subsidiary of the OSN Group. The investment is part of WBD’s growing commitment to the Middle East and North Africa streaming market. The deal will be finalized in phases, pending regulatory approval.

For OSN, the partnership strengthens its leadership position in the region’s highly competitive streaming landscape. The company has been expanding its content portfolio through long-term partnerships, including an exclusive deal with HBO in 2022. Earlier this year, OSN also acquired a majority stake in music streaming platform Anghami, further diversifying its digital offerings.

Sheikha Dana Naser Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Group CEO of KIPCO and Chairperson of OSN, highlighted the importance of the partnership:

“We are delighted to be announcing this deal between WBD and OSN, which […] affirms the success of the strategy that KIPCO laid out to focus on and strengthen our streaming business, even in a competitive market environment. The transaction builds on OSN’s strong growth trajectory and market leadership in MENA’s streaming industry, strengthening its competitive position as one of the region’s premier entertainment destinations”.

Jamie Cooke, Executive Vice President & Managing Director for Central Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East at Warner Bros. Discovery, emphasized the importance of local content alongside global hits:

“It’s our goal to tell the greatest stories, whilst innovating our products and distribution channels […] We recognize that alongside enjoying the latest global hits, regional audiences also want stories from and about the region that reflect their own cultures and experiences. Through this deal, we’re delighted to announce that both OSN and Warner Bros. Discovery will invest in high-quality, locally produced content, ensuring a richer and more diverse offering for viewers”.

Also Read: Best Video Streaming Services In The Middle East

OSN Group CEO Joe Kawkabani echoed this sentiment, calling WBD’s investment a major milestone:

“We are thrilled to welcome WBD as a strategic partner. As a global leader in entertainment, WBD brings unparalleled expertise, innovation, and a rich portfolio of iconic brands. This investment is a significant milestone in OSN’s growth journey, reinforcing our dedication to delivering unique and compelling content. It also bolsters our commitment to expanding our investment in local content, broadening its reach beyond MENA to global audiences”.

WBD’s streaming services, Max and Discovery+, now boast nearly 117 million subscribers worldwide. The company’s increasing footprint in MENA is part of a broader expansion strategy that began with the opening of its Dubai office in 2012. Since then, WBD has steadily built its presence in the region, ensuring that MENA audiences have access to world-class entertainment.

News

Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”

Instagram’s first wordmark refresh in a decade arrives with new fonts, a restrained gradient — and a Reddit verdict of sidegrade.

Published

4 days ago

August 14, 2026

Nour Nasir

Instagram

Although Instagram’s famous camera icon hasn’t changed, the company has refreshed the handwritten wordmark at the top of its app. This is the first redesign we’ve seen in ten years, and one the internet promptly set about renaming.

“The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on August 13, describing the new version as “cleaner and more modern” while keeping references to the original design.

Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options — all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, even literal handwriting — before returning to script. “Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right,” Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement. “The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram”.

The wordmark is part of a broader brand overhaul: an updated Instagram Sans typeface, two new fonts — the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono — plus refreshed motion and layouts, and more restrained use of the signature gradient. The wordmark is rolling out globally now, with the rest arriving throughout 2026 and beyond.

Also Read: Spotify Will Now Tell You If Your Favorite Artist Isn’t Real

The design mixes cursive and print lettering, some characters connected and others floating free. That hybrid approach, combined with unusually shaped “s” and “r” characters, led some users to conclude the logo actually reads “Instagzam”. On the r/logodesign subreddit, one user said the wordmark looked “fan-made,” like something built in Canva; another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive”; a third summarized it as a “sidegrade” — or, inevitably, a “zidegrade”.

Not everyone was hostile to the new look. Some found the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others called it an improvement on its predecessor, and one commenter argued Instagram was simply adopting minimalist branding later than everyone else. Either way, the platform now has a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and an unofficial new pronunciation.