Tving to bring Korean dramas to Middle East, North Africa
CJ ENM will launch a dedicated Tving hub on MBC Shahid, offering Arabic-localized Korean series simultaneously with their releases in Korea.
Kim Do-hyun, left, head of CJ ENM’s content distribution business unit, and Tareq Alibrahim, content director for MBC1, MBC Drama and MBC Shahid, pose after signing a strategic partnership at Mipcom Cannes 2026 in Cannes, France, on Oct. 13.
CJ ENM
CJ ENM will bring Korean dramas to viewers across the Middle East and North Africa through a dedicated Tving hub on MBC Shahid, the streaming platform of Saudi media firm MBC Group.
The Tving hub will offer a curated lineup from CJ ENM, Tving original productions and other major Korean studios, the Korean entertainment firm said Wednesday. At least 13 new titles are planned for release in 2026, alongside over 20 titles from CJ ENM's existing releases. Further titles will also join the platform over the course of the partnership, according to CJ ENM.
MBC Group, unrelated to the Korean broadcasting company MBC, is a Riyadh-based media conglomerate founded in 1991. It runs 15 free-to-air TV channels, three radio stations and the streaming platform MBC Shahid. The group says its channels draw more than 150 million viewers a week.
The titles include the recently premiered tvN romantic comedy “My Bias, My Boss,” melodrama “Filing for Love,” Tving coming-of-age romance “Our Universe” and Tving originals “The Legend of Kitchen Soldier,” starring singer and actor Park Ji-hoon, and “The Judge Returns.”
Selected titles will carry Arabic dubbing and subtitles and the new series will stream on MBC Shahid at the same time as their release in Korea. Shows will also exclusively air on MBC Group's entertainment channel MBC 4 for a set period.
“Expanding our collaboration this year to launch a dedicated Tving-branded space, following our content supply agreement last year, is a meaningful achievement that once again underscores the competitiveness and growth potential of Korean content in the Middle East,” Kim Do-hyun, head of CJ ENM’s content distribution business unit, said.
The two companies signed a long-term strategic partnership Tuesday at Mipcom Cannes 2026, an international television content market in France, CJ ENM said.
“The launch of a dedicated Tving space on MBC Shahid, together with Korean content across our television channels, strengthens the breadth and quality of entertainment we can offer Arab audiences,” said Tareq Alibrahim, content director for MBC1, MBC Drama and MBC Shahid.
BY CHO YONG-JUN [[email protected]]
