Kharabeesh

Kharabeesh is a Jordan-based media company that produces and curates Arabic-language digital content and operates a multi-channel network for digital creators. Its output spans comedy, animation, kids and family, social, tech and gaming, beauty and travel, and includes animated cartoons, music videos and talk shows, historically with a strong political-satire component addressing issues across the Arab world. The name means "scribbles" in Arabic.

The company describes itself as having programmed digital entertainment for youth audiences in the Arab world since 2008, starting with animation, moving into stand-up comedy and growing into what it calls the first pan-Arab MCN in the Middle East. Its channel portfolio and show slate include Kharabeesh Cartoons, Kharabeesh Comedy, N2O Comedy, Little Kharabeesh, Kharabeesh Street and Kharabeesh Studio, alongside series such as "Ala Rasi," "Female," "Lat-O-Ajin," "Al Famolia," "My Life is Tabouleh," "Khaffash," "Dodet Kotob" and "Radar with Ahmad Al-Assad." It has also produced "Shahid Original" series including "This is Earth" and "The Case." Kharabeesh is part of the Think Arabia media group, a parent company formed when the founders merged their earlier web and tech start-ups with partners Firas Otaibi and Shaher Otaibi so that group companies could supply web and graphic design services to one another.

Founding story

Wikipedia reports Kharabeesh was originally co-founded in 2005 by Jordanian blogger Wael Attili with Mohammad Asfour and Wafa Nabulsi, with the aim of producing satirical animated videos distributed solely through new-media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter; Attili traces the idea to 2005-2006 and a perceived lack of Arabic content in social media and online video. Forbes and the company's own site date the launch of the business to 2008, and Forbes lists five co-founders: Attili, Wafa al Nabulsi, Mohammed Asfour, Firas al Otaibi and Shaher Al Otaibi, describing them as friends who met while struggling to pay university fees. The founders deliberately oriented early content around pan-Arab political themes rather than country-specific social issues, viewing online media as offering more freedom of expression than print. The company initially operated from a small office in Jabal Amman.

Business model

Kharabeesh partners with creative personalities and creators who produce or co-produce video content hosted on Kharabeesh platforms, offering advisory services such as analytics management and monetization techniques through its partnership programs. It also runs educational programs training individuals and corporates to create YouTube content, and takes individual commissions from clients, though most work is generated in-house by testing ideas to gauge buyer interest.

Revenue is built on the company's ability to attract views from the Arab market, primarily through advertising sales and brand-focused formats such as product placement, sponsorships and branded integrations within content, plus client commissions.

Traction

The company's site reports 138 channels, 44 million subscribers, 180 million views per month and 13 billion lifetime views. At the time of the 2016 round, coverage cited roughly 82 million monthly views in the region and almost 12.5 million subscribers. Forbes reported in December 2014 that Kharabeesh had produced about 10,000 videos since 2008, reached 1 billion lifetime YouTube views, had a social media network of 7 million and was not yet profitable, with 35 employees and a network of hundreds of freelancers.

Latest developments

Kharabeesh has produced "Shahid Original" series including the science-fiction comedy "This is Earth" and the live-action/animation hybrid "The Case." Its most recently reported financing was the $5 million round announced in 2016, which management said would fund geographic expansion, hiring, marketing and content creation.