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SRMG, Warner Bros. Discovery Partner to Launch 'Asharq Discovery'

SRMG CEO Jomana al-Rashid and Warner Bros. Discovery General Manager Jamie Cooke after signing the new partnership (Asharq Al-Awsat)
SRMG CEO Jomana al-Rashid and Warner Bros. Discovery General Manager Jamie Cooke after signing the new partnership (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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SRMG, Warner Bros. Discovery Partner to Launch 'Asharq Discovery'

SRMG CEO Jomana al-Rashid and Warner Bros. Discovery General Manager Jamie Cooke after signing the new partnership (Asharq Al-Awsat)
SRMG CEO Jomana al-Rashid and Warner Bros. Discovery General Manager Jamie Cooke after signing the new partnership (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), the MENA region's largest media group, entered into a long-term partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to launch 'Asharq Discovery,' a new Arabic language channel exclusively for audiences in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.

Asharq Discovery will be the newest addition to SRMG's fast-growing media and international offerings.

Asharq Discovery aims to connect audiences in the Middle East and North Africa region with the world while providing content that tells unique Arabic content and presents unique experiences and memorable stories that allow audiences a step outside their established media consumption habits.

The partnership comes in the context of the MENA expansion strategy of Warner Bros. Discovery and SRMG's growth strategy, brought together by a shared goal of diversifying content and improving its accessibility, and help propel MENA's maturing entertainment industry to become one of the largest globally.

General Manager for CEE, Middle East, and Türkiye, Jamie Cooke, indicated that the entertainment industry in the MENA region is experiencing a fantastic transformation and exponential growth, providing opportunities for content players and consumers.

Cooke explained that after establishing the Discovery brand in linear channels, and successfully launching Discovery+ last year, "we believe launching a new FTA channel in MENA with the homegrown powerhouse, SRMG is a solid step for us to build a 360 ecosystem of entertainment."

"This partnership will also support our MENA business development strategy to increase our presence in KSA," he asserted.

SRMG CEO Jomana al-Rashid said that the new strategic collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery would further enhance the group's ability to provide more dynamic and innovative Arabic content through multiple formats and platforms.

"This partnership is a further demonstration of SRMG's unrelenting focus and commitment to its consumer-centric approach; bringing our audiences engaging and premium content - when, where, and how they want it," said Rashid.

She indicated that Discovery has an unrivaled legacy of producing cutting-edge, high-quality documentaries.

"We look forward to working together to deliver co-commissioned quality content, provide new job opportunities and best-in-class training, and tap into a new global network for our growing audiences."

Asharq Discovery will offer thousands of hours of premium content, including originals, premieres, and exclusives, across a wide selection of genres spanning pop science and engineering, motoring and turbo, wildlife and nature, adventure and travel, reality and lifestyle, crime mystery documentaries.

Warner Bros. Discovery and SRMG have earmarked co-productions of high-quality local programming to be distributed globally through the Discovery Global network, adding more cultural and market relevance to the mix.

Asharq Discovery is set to be launched to MENA users in 2023 through broadcasts, streaming, and third-party local apps, with a catch-up facility available on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

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Landmark Nepal Survey Estimates Nearly 400 Elusive Snow Leopards

A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
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Landmark Nepal Survey Estimates Nearly 400 Elusive Snow Leopards

A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)
A snow leopard walks in its enclosure at the RZSS Highland Wildlife Park near Kincraig Scotland, Britain, February 12, 2016. (Reuters)

Nepal's first nationwide survey of the threatened snow leopard estimated nearly 400 of the elusive big cats in the Himalayan nation, wildlife officials said Tuesday.

Habitat loss, climate change and poaching have greatly impacted snow leopard populations across Asia, listed as a "vulnerable" species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

But the survey offers a rare shot of hope, confirming numbers lie at the upper end of the previous estimates.

With thick grey fur dotted with dark spots, and large paws that act as natural snow shoes, the species are difficult to spot and quick to hide, making field research challenging.

"This is a historic step in Nepal's snow leopard conservation journey," Haribhadra Acharya, senior ecologist at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, told AFP.

"This is the first time we are getting authentic data with the great effort of researchers," he said.

An estimated total of 397 snow leopards were counted, determined through motion-sensor camera and genetic analysis in seven key areas.

It offers the most comprehensive national estimate of snow leopards -- also known as the "ghosts of mountains" -- previously estimated by the IUCN to be in the range of 301-400.

Snow leopards are the least studied of the big cats globally due to their low population density and remote mountain habitats they inhabit.

"Nepal has only two percent of the size of the snow leopard habitats globally, (yet) we host 10 percent of the total estimated population", Ghana S Gurung, country representative of WWF Nepal, told AFP.

"More importantly, we are the second smallest country in terms of snow leopard habitat size after Bhutan, (but) we hold the fourth largest population," he added.

The Snow Leopard Trust, a US-based conservation group, says the exact total number is not known but that "there may be as few as 3,920 and probably no more than 6,390" across 12 countries in Asia.

Although conservationists have welcomed the new population estimate, many remain concerned about the threats posed by climate change and infrastructure development.

"New road construction, installation of transmission lines, and increased human activity in search of herbs are disrupting snow leopards' habitats in the Himalayas," said Acharya, one of the lead researchers.

Experts say the increasing avalanches in the mountains -- where climate change is exacerbating extremes of weather patterns -- are another threat.

Nepal has been praised worldwide for its efforts to protect wildlife which have helped several species, including tigers and rhinos, to return from the brink of local extinction.

The country's conservation efforts have helped to triple its tiger population to 355 since 2010 and to increase one-horned rhinoceros from around 100 in the 1960s to 752 in 2021.