Barnett rejoins MBC as CEO
December 17, 2020
By Chris Forrester
In October 2019 it was announced that Sam Barnett would be leaving his CEO role at MBC, the Dubai-based broadcasting giant. He was in post for some 17 years. He stayed on as an ‘advisor’ to the business, but has now returned as CEO of the MBC Group.
Barnett is replacing Marc Antoine d’Halluin who the broadcaster says will stay on as an advisor. d’Halluin had previously headed up the pay-TV operator Showtime Arabia (2006-2008) and had held various senior positions in Europe including M7 Group and Zodiac Media.
MBC says that Barnett will head up what is a new structure at the company and report to long-time Chairman Waleed Al Ibraham.
The company adds that the decisions were made to keep pace with the acceleration of opportunities in the digital media and OTT markets and to deliver on the Saudi Kingdom’s Vision 2030 media agenda.
MBC continues to expand, notably with its OTT service Shahid. MBC has recently struck a content-sharing deal with Rotana Group for programming for Shahid.