du signs an exclusive agreement with Rotana

Continuing to raise the bar through innovative products, du, the UAE’s integrated telecom operator, has signed an exclusive agreement with Rotana to offer all content from the Rotana library to du’s customers in the UAE

For the first time in the UAE, du will offer Full Track Music Downloads to customers from PC’s and mobiles. du customers will exclusively have access to full track music of the best Arabic artists including Mohammed Abdou, Amr Diab, Elissa, Hussein Aljessmi, Ahlam, Sherine, Najwa Karam, Nawal Alkuwaitieh, Fadl Shakir amongst many others. As part of the deal, du customers will also get the benefit of being the first to access Rotana’s new music releases where it will be available on du’s network.

In addition, du customers will also get access to all of Rotana's music videos, music reviews, latest entertainment news and access to wallpapers, tunes, etc in the future as well.

This will be made available on mobile using the friendly and easy On Device Portal, as well as online using the exclusive music portal on the du website; and new media, utilizing the specially designed Desktop Client named MyWorld Live to further enhance the user entertainment experience. As part of the agreement, a brand new interface will enable du customers to download and enjoy this exclusive content easily.

Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: “Our strategic relationship with Rotana, a leading name in Arabic entertainment and content, complements our vision and further strengthens the entertainment services we offer our customers in the UAE. We are an integrated service provider and we look forward to enriching our customer's experience in all aspects of communication, through our varied services and products.”

Yousef H Mugharbil, President, Rotana Digital Media, said: “The launching of Rotana’s Digital Entertainment Outsourcing with du, brings to the UAE market and to du’s customers exclusively a new world of entertainment experience!”

Farid Faraidooni, EVP Commercial, du, highlighted the importance du places on providing relevant content to its diverse customer base. "We are constantly monitoring market response to our content and services to ensure each of our customers find something that relates to their language and culture in our content rich MyWorld offering. This is a dynamic portal that we promise our customers is constantly evolving to suit their specific areas of interest."

As part of the deal, Rotana will also create a du branded streaming TV channel (Rotana du TV) that is custom built for du’s customers. This channel is an assimilation of content from Rotana’s library, which will be accessible exclusively by du users through mobile, online and new media.

October 20,2008