CGI’s machine learning solution helps the world’s largest Arabic video-on-demand (VOD) service enhance the user experience
The Middle East Broadcasting Center or MBC Group is the largest private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Middle East and North Africa region. The company’s video on demand (VOD) service, SHAHID has quickly become the largest free, subscription VOD service in the Arab world, with more than 27 million monthly users across the globe, and growing rapidly.
In 2019, CGI’s operations in Finland created and implemented a scalable recommendation engine for SHAHID. The aim was to make the service more accessible, grow the user base and retain SHAHID’s existing base of millions of users across the globe.
CGI and MBC experts worked together to create an engine that uses advanced machine learning algorithms to provide recommendations based on the user’s prior viewing experiences and by cross-referencing similar users’ content-viewing behaviors and preferences.
The finalized build of the recommendation engine was successfully implemented into the platform in time for the launch of the latest version of the SHAHID streaming service application in late November 2019. Since then, a team of experts from MBC and CGI have continued further development of the engine and the SHAHID platform now has an evolving recommendation engine that keeps users interested, engaged and coming back for more.
