Business & Money | Wednesday 16 November, 2016 4:40 pm |

Intigral, a leading provider of IP video products in the MENA region, was recognised last night for its leadership in sports product development, content delivery and consumer engagement by winning the ‘Innovation in MENA Sport’ category at the highly respected BroadcastPro ME Awards 2016.

 

Intigral won the award for Dawri Plus – the leading digital sports platform for delivering live match streaming and unique fan engagements. Dawri Plus was created to help Saudi Telecom Company (STC) effectively activate their digital rights for Saudi football and provide an innovative platform for customer engagement.

 

The award highlights the growing global consumer appeal for multi-screen viewing experiences and the important role that integrated gaming and social media play in modern day sports broadcasting.

 

Ben Kinealy, CEO of Intigral, welcomed the accolade: “Dawri Plus allows fans to be part of the game, experiencing Saudi football anywhere, at any time and on any device. We are pleased to accept this award in recognition of our role in redefining the sports viewing experience in the MENA region, reaffirming Intigral’s leadership in video delivery solutions.”

 

 “The sports media landscape has changed dramatically and over the past few years the world has been challenged to evolve and adapt to new consumer demands and technologies. At Intigral, we identified the need for creating a fully-integrated platform with the mobile consumer in mind and we are humbled to accept this award,” Mr Kinealy said.

 

Also commenting on the award, Karim Saade, Intigral’s Senior Director of Digital Sports, said: “There is no other multi-screen platform in the MENA region that uses cutting-edge technology to allow users to be at the center of the game. We recognized the consumer need and matched this against industry and technology trends to create an innovative and engaging experience that adds real value to STC and the way Saudi fans watch Saudi Football.

 

“People are always on the go, and with Dawri Plus it is possible to watch a match on your laptop, tablet or mobile device. Users can view full match analyses including statistics on player speed, zones of influence and player heat maps. To complement the football experience we added a variety of gaming features, including fantasy football, score predictor and line-up predictor. We look forward to further capitalize on our digital sports expertise and launch a wider array of products that improve the digital experience of our sports fans.” Mr Saade said.

 

Dawri Plus is the ultimate digital sports experience for Saudi-based football fans, while being a vital link for Saudi football fans who live outside the region, where it can be challenging to keep up with the latest news of the domestic football League. The platform has over 250,000 active users a day, the app has been downloaded over 2 million times and almost 90% of users consider Dawri Plus to be an innovative breakthrough.