FreeWheel has appointed Hamid Davari as Commercial Director for the MENA region to lead the company's strategic expansion in the area. Davari, formerly of OSN, will focus on providing local broadcasters and streaming platforms with access to FreeWheel's advertising technology stack.
The appointment of Hamid Davari signals a concerted effort to professionalize the programmatic landscape in a region where digital ad spend has historically favored social platforms over premium video. By deploying its full tech stack, FreeWheel is positioning itself to capture the shift toward Connected TV as local broadcasters seek to monetize digital audiences with the same sophistication found in Western markets. This move forces local competitors to accelerate their own addressable TV roadmaps to maintain agency relationships. Watch for new partnership announcements between FreeWheel and major regional streaming platforms beyond OSN as the company attempts to consolidate the fragmented MENA supply side.
FreeWheel's MENA push gives regional agencies direct access to Comcast-owned media and to the 80 percent of broadcasters and streaming platforms that already use FreeWheel across North America and Europe for international campaigns. Campaign Middle East reported that Davari will focus on helping regional media companies upgrade their tech stacks to solve buy- and sell-side challenges in premium video, with local marketplace products and advanced planning tools now available to MENA-based buyers for the first time.
Davari's background at OSN is directly relevant to FreeWheel's regional strategy. Advanced Television noted that during his tenure at OSN, Davari was the first in the region to launch an Advanced TV addressable advertising product, and he has contributed to the IAB MENA CTV Taskforce and industry whitepapers on connected TV advertising standards. That experience positions him to navigate the fragmented MENA supply side, where linear TV advertising has been historically underutilized relative to social and performance channels.
FreeWheel's expansion into MENA reflects a broader pattern of the company extending its premium video ad stack into growth markets. Broadcast Pro ME reported that FreeWheel aims to help premium video publishers and agencies strengthen their advertising capabilities and capture greater value from the region's growing CTV market, addressing scalability, audience targeting, and unified reporting challenges that have previously limited programmatic premium video adoption in the territory.
FreeWheel has appointed former OSN executive Hamid Davari as its new Commercial Director for the MENA region. This strategic hire aims to professionalize the programmatic landscape by helping regional broadcasters and streaming platforms adopt advanced advertising technology, ultimately shifting ad spend from social media toward premium Connected TV inventory.
Hamid Davari, a former OSN executive, has been appointed as the Commercial Director for FreeWheel in the MENA region.
The goal is to help regional broadcasters and streaming platforms upgrade their tech stacks to capture the shift toward Connected TV advertising and move ad spend away from social and performance channels.
Davari previously worked at OSN, where he launched the region's first addressable TV product and contributed to the IAB MENA CTV Taskforce.
Local partners will gain access to unified reporting, advanced planning tools, local marketplace products, and direct access to Comcast-owned media.
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