LONDON: MBC Group, the Middle East and North Africa region鈥檚 leading media company, announced new partnerships on Thursday to expand the number of anime titles available on its streaming platform Shahid.

The Riyadh-based organization said in a statement it had teamed up 鈥渨ith key anime studios and production houses in Japan beyond to bring more anime content to its streaming platform.鈥�

鈥淎nime is extremely popular in the Middle East region 鈥� particularly in the Kingdom of 黑料社区 鈥� so needless to say, we are incredibly excited to be making new additions to our ever-expanding anime catalog on Shahid, bringing new and hit titles that audiences will love exploring,鈥� said Tareq Al-Ibrahim, director of content for subscription video on demand at Shahid.

As part of the new deals, MBC Group said it has secured exclusive rights in MENA to TV Tokyo鈥檚 鈥淏leach: Thousand-Year Blood War,鈥� the 52-episode Japanese anime television series based on the 鈥淏leach鈥� manga series by Tite Kubo, and a direct sequel to the 鈥淏leach鈥� anime series.

The title, which returns after an eight-year hiatus, is available to stream on Shahid at the same time as in Japan and the US.

The group also announced the extension of the partnership with TOEI Animation, the Japanese anime studio behind the 25-year global hit manga series 鈥淥ne Piece.鈥� As part of the renewed collaboration, MBC Group will air the new upcoming episodes of the series exclusively on its platform.

Following the success of the anime adaptation of 鈥淩ascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai鈥� on Shahid, the media group has also expanded its partnership with its production company, Aniplex.

Under the new collaboration, fans will enjoy more than 200 hours of Aniplex content on Shahid, including 鈥淔ate/Stay Night,鈥� 鈥淪word Art Online,鈥� and 鈥淕urren Lagann.鈥�

The move reinforces MBC Group鈥檚 commitment to expanding its anime offering, continuing to add to an already rich catalog that includes renowned titles 鈥淗unter x Hunter,鈥� 鈥淟egend of the Galactic Heroes,鈥� 鈥淏elle,鈥� as well as the Japanese鈥摵诹仙缜鴑 animated action fantasy film, 鈥淭he Journey.鈥�

The company said the new titles will be available to stream on Shahid by the end of the year.

The news comes at an exciting moment for the MBC Group. The company was reported last month to be working with HSBC Holdings and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to go public as early as next year.