Saudi MBC Group to launch NFT Collectibles

Saudi MBC GROUP to launch in Ramadan The Fananees NFT Genesis Collectibles. The NFT Collectibles will offer MBC its most popular characters in digital Intellectual Property (IP) to the wide community of NFT enthusiasts, experts and collectors across the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region.

These NFT collectibles feature MBC GROUP’s renowned 7 (seven) cartoon characters, with more than 200 different attributes and varying levels of rarity.

A total of 9,999 unique NFTs will be revealed on the first day of Ramadan, April 2, 2022. Future collections of digital collectibles will be available around the same Ramadan time, in the coming years.

Fananees NFTs are the MENA’s first unique NFT collection which celebrates the region’s rich cultural heritage, powered by compelling, premium content and the latest innovations in blockchain technology. Their illustrations have been developed by a well-reputed design agency, behind some of the most popular cartoons in the industry, which worked with Paramount and Nickelodeon, among others.

Fananees NFTs will be integrated into existing games, allowing users to connect their NFTs to the game account and change the game avatar to the NFT image. Fananees NFT holders are set to receive 1% of all revenues from the NFT sales (primary and secondary); they will also receive different offline and online rewards, ranging from access to events and early viewings to streaming services and others.

The MENA region’s first non-fungible token (NFT) premium content–tech disruptive media project comes as a result of the partnership between MBC GROUP, the top-10 media company globally with more than 300,000,000 unique viewers, media premium content producer and digital (IP) owner; the Zurich-based ANCORE Strategy, a leading technology and go-to market advisory firm; and AFTERMEDIA, the commercial and business development company that helps client-partners develop and implement sales strategies, while aiming to meet growth targets.

Commenting on The Fananees (NFT) Genesis Collectibles, Fadel Zahreddine, Group Director of Emerging Media at MBC GROUP stated, “Fananees is one of the most successful and well-known characters in the Arab world, and in this era of constant innovation, we want to be at the forefront of emerging opportunities in NFT, Blockchain, and Metaverse. To that end, we are committed to driving innovation, and our beloved Fananees characters will be released as NFTs, as a first step. I’m optimistic that this initial step into the NFT age will pave the way for MBC to expand its presence in the realm of digital IPs.”

On his part, AFTERMEDIA’s Founder and CEO, Hani Ghorayeb stated, “It’s high-time for brands and tech to connect together with consumers with the aim to raise the levels of engagement via NFTs. This convergent solution servess the purpose of the NFT community, its market growth and utility, while offering clients interruptive commercial solutions coupled with sizeable opportunities”

Pavel Jakovlev, ANCORE Strategy’s Founder and Managing Partner added, “It’s exciting to push the envelope of the NFT technology in the region’s first-mover collection. This becomes even more interesting as we explore the Fananees utility in gaming and the much-anticipated metaverse.”

It’s worth noting that, back in May 2020, MBC GROUP racked up a total of 4.56 billion digital and social video views. The Group’s three shows were among the top-four performing shows in MENA during Ramadan, the peak TV-viewing season. MBC GROUP has entrusted ANCORE Strategy and AFTERMEDIA with one of its most important Intellectual Properties (IPs).