{"id":1692,"date":"2022-12-01T18:11:24","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T10:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/?p=1692"},"modified":"2023-03-27T11:05:55","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T03:05:55","slug":"muslim-pro-app-launches-global-streaming-service-qalbox-in-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/muslim-pro-app-launches-global-streaming-service-qalbox-in-malaysia\/","title":{"rendered":"Muslim Pro App Launches Global Streaming Service Qalbox in Malaysia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Qalbox<\/span><\/a>, the new global subscription video on demand (SVOD) streaming service from Bitsmedia (developer of the world\u2019s leading Muslim lifestyle mobile app Muslim Pro), officially launched in Malaysia today.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Available within the Muslim Pro app, Qalbox hosts a wide-ranging library of content that celebrates global Muslim identities and cultures, creating a global platform for Muslim-focused titles. It seeks to deliver a comprehensive and curated scope of genres for the global Muslim community, showcasing diverse representations and nuances of Muslims worldwide spanning from the Americas and Europe to the Middle East and Asia.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With Malaysia being one of its key consumer markets, Bitsmedia is expanding its local presence through a strategic investment from Bintang Capital Partners and Penjana Kapital. The investment is part of Bitsmedia\u2019s growth capital fundraising round to support the roll out of Qalbox to a global audience and accelerate Qalbox\u2019s content offering expansion pipeline. As part of the launch, Qalbox has signed content partnerships with local content distributors like Astro, Pixel Play, and Nads Media in order to showcase Southeast Asian content for its audiences in Malaysia and the rest of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Celebration of Muslim Culture<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/span>In Southeast Asia, there\u2019s a growing appetite for over-the-top content (OTT) consumption, with at least a <\/span>third of the region\u2019s population<\/span><\/a> now streaming content. The study found that younger audiences are driving the shift across the region, with 44% of viewership coming from Millennials and Gen Zers, aged 16 to 34.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, there is a massive gap for faith-based content suitable for tech-savvy, Muslim audiences. <\/span>Amongst Muslim Pro users, a survey found that 7 in 10 respondents struggled with having to tap into multiple sources and platforms when seeking viewer-appropriate and relevant content. Indeed, only <\/span>1% of TV characters are Muslim, <\/span><\/a>despite representing a quarter of the global population.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Qalbox\u2019s wide-ranging catalogue hopes to address this by shining a spotlight on Muslim identities and culture. The\u00a0 SVOD service also aims to support Muslim content creators and creatives to share their voices and stories on the platform, catering to a global audience. Local viewers will have access to a wide variety of Muslim friendly content from around the world, including stand-up comedy <\/span>Maz Jobrani: Pandemic Warrior<\/span><\/i> (Highpoint Productions), television series <\/span>Little Mosque on the Prairie<\/span><\/i> (Westwind Pictures), Emmy-nominated children\u2019s animation series <\/span>Burka Avenger<\/span><\/i> (Unicorn Black Studios) as well as Quranic recitations and supplications (du\u2019a).<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IAmMuslim-Poster-1-scaled.jpg” _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” alt=”Qalbox Original Series: I AM MUSLIM” title_text=”Qalbox Original Series: I AM MUSLIM” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.17.6″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Beyond globally acquired content, Qalbox will also be producing its own original content as it looks to provide greater value to its viewers and to support and encourage greater Muslim representation in the entertainment scene. First in its slate of original content is <\/span>I am Muslim series <\/span><\/i>which premieres at Qalbox\u2019s official launch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Available to stream on 1 December 2022, the short docu-series takes an intimate look at the lives of a select group of Muslim individuals from around the world with fascinating stories and intriguing lives. The show is an exploration of the how the Islamic faith resonates for each featured individual, revealing the similarities in the Muslim identity that is shared by millions across the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nik Emir Din, Co-CEO of Bitsmedia, said,<\/b> \u201cAs the world\u2019s leading Muslim lifestyle mobile app, we\u2019ve seen how Muslim consumers are widely under-served, and we hope to close this gap with Qalbox. Our varied content not only represents the diverse Muslim community, it also entertains users with a variety of global titles. We hope Malaysian audiences will enjoy this diverse catalogue, which depicts the Muslim experience from around the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMuslim representation in media is important, and so is empowering Muslim storytellers with a platform to tell their own stories. Given our global user base, we\u2019re thrilled to be able to help shine a light on locally produced Malaysian shows with audiences all over the world and we hope to introduce even more Malaysian productions in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Johan Rozali-Wathooth, Founder of Bintang Capital Partner, said,<\/b> \u201cThe launch of Qalbox marks a major revolutionary step in Bitsmedia\u2019s journey since Bintang made our inaugural investment in the company five years ago. Qalbox is already starting to provide Muslim audiences worldwide with the high quality, wholesome Muslim-inspired content they richly deserve, through a highly innovative multi-channel platform. We believe that through Qalbox, we can potentially create massive social impact by streaming content that educates and inspires Muslim communities all over the world. It also represents an unparalleled opportunity for us to showcase the diversity and variety of Muslim culture and lifestyles to a truly global audience, and we hope that by doing so, we can bring these communities closer together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Qalbox can be accessed through the Muslim Pro app with a 2-in-1 subscription, giving Muslim Pro users two offerings within a single mobile app. Besides enjoying Muslim Pro app ad-free and being able to unlock their favourite Quran reciters, users will also have access to hundreds of hours of Qalbox\u2019s films, documentaries, kids\u2019 programmes and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In celebration of its launch here, Malaysian users can get Qalbox at a promotional price of RM 4.90\/month or an annual subscription plan of RM 49.90\/year for a limited time only.<\/span><\/p>\n

Qalbox is available for viewing on mobile, web app, tablets and SMART TV Chromecasting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

For media enquiries, please contact\u00a0<\/span><\/b>press@bitsmedia.com<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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Recognising Malaysia as one of its key markets, the new SVOD platform aims to share quality Muslim-centric content to viewers nationwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":1693,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[17,16,15],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1692"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1692"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1701,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1692\/revisions\/1701"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitsmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}