OSN appoints industry leader Martin Stewart as CEO

OSN, the region’s leading pay TV network, today announced the appointment of Martin Stewart, an experienced international pay TV professional with proven industry leadership credentials, as its new Chief Executive Officer. 

Widely acknowledged for his contribution to the European pay TV industry, Mr. Stewart has served as Director General of ONO, a Spanish broadband communication and entertainment company and as Chief Financial Officer for Sky, Europe’s leading entertainment company, during which time, Sky launched its digital platform and doubled its subscriber base to 7 million. He was also the CFO of EMI, the British multinational music recording and publishing company. Mr. Stewart is currently Chief Financial Officer of The Football Association (The FA) in the UK. 

Mr. Stewart takes charge from David Butorac, who served as OSN’s CEO from 2010, playing an instrumental role in establishing OSN as the region’s leading pay-TV network. Milestone achievements under his leadership include the launch of OSN Play, the region’s first digital platform; Go online TV; and OSN Store, the region’s first digital video store. Mr Butorac also contributed to building OSN’s exclusive partnerships with the world’s leading content providers, and steered the anti-piracy campaign spearheaded by OSN in the region.

Faisal Hamad Al Ayyar, Chairman of OSN, said: “I am delighted to welcome Martin Stewart, an experienced professional with exceptional leadership experience in driving the transformational growth of businesses. Mr. Stewart is not new to OSN, having been its non-executive director since 2015. His expertise in leading from the forefront of change will be a significant value-add for OSN as we mark a new chapter in our growth story.”

He added: “I thank David Butorac for driving the growth of OSN over the past six years. His strategic initiatives enabled OSN to take firm industry leadership and consolidate its market presence through compelling content and innovative tech platforms.” 

Mr. Stewart will assume office at OSN in Dubai on 1 August 2016. He said: “I am delighted to take charge as the Chief Executive Officer of OSN. The business is well positioned to take advantage of new opportunities and I am confident that we have the team, network and resources to gain a stronger foothold across the region. The rise in digital content, smart TVs and smartphone penetration together with a youthful population affords an exciting opportunity for growth in the future.”

Mr. Stewart holds several high-profile leadership roles. He is the lead non-executive director of The Department of Energy & Climate Change (UK), and has been a board member and chair of the Audit Committee for Satellite Information Services (SiS) Ltd and Kabel Deutschland in Munich. He was also a board member and chair of the Audit Committee for London 2012 – the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. 

With over 150 channels, OSN is an industry leader bringing an unbeatable breadth of entertainment choices. OSN’s long-term global and regional partnerships ensure that viewers across the MENA will always have first and exclusive access to premium content.

The biggest Hollywood blockbusters, latest TV series and general entertainment from leading studios such as Warner Brothers, Paramount, Disney, MGM, NBCUniversal, HBO and DreamWorks are available first and exclusively on OSN meeting the preferences of the entire family. A pioneer in delivering premium children’s content, OSN has 10 channels dedicated to family and children’s entertainment including OSN Movies Kids, Disney Channel HD, Disney XD and Nick Jr., among others. OSN’s compelling content is available ‘anytime, anywhere’ and ‘On Demand’ making OSN the go-to network for the best in TV entertainment. For more information visit www.osn.com.