‘Million Dollar Listing UAE’ TV Series Is a Hit With Arab Viewers as Dubai Property Prices Skyrocket (EXCLUSIVE)
variety.comNick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Million Dollar Listing UAE,” the first adaptation outside the U.S. of Bravo’s long-running luxury real estate reality franchise, is going through the roof in the Middle East.
The bilingual show, featuring five United Arab Emirates brokers wheeling and dealing lavish properties in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has been breaking all previous viewership records “across originals as well as licensed shows” since its Sept.
15 launch on subscription streamer Starzplay Arabia, says its CEO Maaz Sheikh. In hindsight “it’s a no brainer” says Ben Ross, acting CEO of Image Nation Abu Dhabi, the government-owned studio that decided to license the show from NBCUniversal Formats after being approached by veteran Dubai-based real estate agent Ben Bandari, who initially tried to get the remake rights himself.
Image Nation then brought it to Starzplay. Until recently, Bandari’s claim to fame was achieving property sales exceeding 20 billion Dirhams ($5 billion).
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