شاهد (Shahid)
Platform · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
شاهد (Shahid — Arabic for "watch") is a showcase of on-demand video and live TV channels from the MBC group, not a platform for creators. The difference is fundamental: you cannot upload your own video here. The terms of use describe the service as a personalised service for finding and accessing content, available on televisions, computers, mobile devices and set-top boxes, while the Arabic front page introduces it with the line «مسلسلات مجانية، قنوات مباشرة، افلام» — "free series, live channels, films".
The owner is named in the same place: MBC FZ LLC, trade licence No. 30391, a limited liability company registered in Dubai (UAE), Building 3, Dubai Media City. The terms are dated 5 February 2025.
For a promotion specialist Shahid matters in two roles: as a distribution channel for material you produce for MBC or its partners, and as an advertising platform. Neither role opens up on your own — both require a contract. An ordinary user has viewing, comments and resharing of short clips.
Who's here
The group's quarterly release of 10 May 2026 names only money: MBC SHAHID revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was 459.9 million Saudi riyals, up 17.5% year on year; net profit was 47.4 million against 13.3 million a year earlier. The growth is explained there by subscription revenue in the Middle East, North Africa and international markets, by improved retention and by pricing changes, while advertising revenue is described as slightly down.
Interface languages: Arabic, English and French. There is no Russian version. The data controller is named in the privacy notice: MBC FZ LLC, Dubai Media City, Building 3, Dubai, UAE, with a separate provision for users from the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. The geography of viewing is limited by the terms: content is available mainly in the country where the account was set up, and only where the service operates and holds screening rights.
Getting started
Registration is mandatory and the age bar is high: the service may be used from 18, or from the age of majority in your country, and minors only with the consent and supervision of an adult. That is noticeably stricter than most platforms in the register.
An account is created with an email address or a phone number, or by signing in through a third-party service; the terms note that with single sign-on the third-party application's rules apply, and its credentials become your data for the service.
Plans. The European storefront names three tiers: free (0 euros), VIP at 12.99 euros a month, and VIP | BigTime at 15.99 euros a month. The paid tiers give an absence of advertising, big-screen viewing, original and premium projects and live sports broadcasts, and the higher one adds concerts and events from the Riyadh and Jeddah seasons. Prices depend on the country of display — the page was served to us in euros.
The terms list other means of access too: advertising-supported (AVOD), subscription (SVOD), mixed, telecom operator plans bundled with their services, vouchers and coupons, payment through iTunes and Google Play. Access periods are 7 days, 30 days, 3 months, 12 months, while advertising-supported plans have no time limit.
What you can publish
Your own videos — nothing. Uploading user clips is not provided for by the terms: the catalogue is assembled by MBC.
User content does exist, but in a cut-down form. The terms describe it like this: the service has features where you can find, create, upload, share, comment and connect with other users; everyone except minors can watch, like and share reels to external platforms and messengers, but only paying subscribers leave comments.
The rules of conduct are listed separately. It is forbidden to publish other people's personal data; material infringing copyright or privacy; defamatory, indecent, pornographic or hateful content; calls to crime, dangerous acts or self-harm; trolling, harassment and threats; racist and discriminatory statements; recommendations in fields where you hold no licence. The service may remove a post without compensation or explanation.
Artificial intelligence is set out separately and harshly: it is forbidden to use AI tools, deepfakes and any automated processes to alter the service's material — to create synthetic versions distorting its meaning and appearance, to falsely attribute statements and endorsements to people, characters and brands, or to distribute the reworked result. A violation may lead to immediate blocking and legal action.
How to grow
Shahid has no growth mechanisms for an outside creator: no recommendation feed, no counters, no statistics console. How the catalogue is ranked and how material gets into collections is decided by MBC's editorial team.
The only thing here that could be called promotion is advertising inside the ad-supported plans. The terms confirm that AVOD plans exist alongside subscription ones. A separate detail: the robots.txt file closes the site to all robots and opens it by name to the search engines listed, including Googlebot, Bingbot, Yandex, Applebot, DuckDuckBot, LinkedInBot, Twitterbot and OAI-AdsBot — the catalogue is indexed, but arbitrary data collection is not envisaged.
Path to monetization
Shahid does not pay creators. The service has no programme for monetizing user content, because there is no user video in the first place.
What is more, the terms dispose of any material sent in to their own benefit: all comments, survey responses, suggestions, ideas, graphics and other information passed to the service through its communication channels, surveys or social networks become MBC's property for ever; the company is not obliged to treat them as confidential and pays neither the sender nor anyone else for them. If you plan to offer the service an idea or material, start from that clause.
The money on Shahid is earned by rights holders and production companies — under separate contracts with MBC whose terms are not disclosed.
Tools and automation
Shahid has no open programming interface: neither documentation nor a developer portal. The terms, on the contrary, expressly forbid using robots, "spiders", parsers and any automated means of access, decompiling and reverse-engineering the software part, applying any methods of extracting and collecting data, or embedding the service in another program or product; placing links to the service from other people's sites is also not allowed without written consent.
The conclusion for a specialist: any scheduling, analytics or monitoring service promising to work with Shahid contradicts its terms.
Limits and rules
- Age. From 18 or the age of majority; younger only under an adult's supervision.
- Personal and non-commercial use. The service may not be used for commercial purposes, shared with people outside the household, or applied to advertising and mailings.
- Devices and speed. The number of simultaneous streams depends on the plan, and the connection requirements are stated outright: from 2.0 Mbit/s for SD, from 3.0 for 720p, from 5.0 for 1080p and from 17.0 for 4K.
- Offline viewing. Downloading is available on some devices, with limits on the number of items and devices, on the deadline for starting to watch and on the storage period; in some countries downloads will not play.
- Refunds. A subscription renews automatically, and funds are not returned unless the law requires otherwise.
- Law. The terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, with exclusive jurisdiction in the courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Who it's for
Shahid suits rights holders and producers working with the Arab market: it is a major regional showcase with growing subscription revenue — up 17.5% year on year in the first quarter of 2026. There is one route in — negotiations with MBC. It also suits advertisers targeting the Middle East and North Africa: the service does have advertising plans.
It does not suit independent creators: there is no video upload, no monetization, no statistics. It does not suit automation: the terms forbid any robots and data extraction. And it does not suit Russian-speaking projects without Arabic content — neither the interface language nor, judging by the description of the geography, access outside the regions where the service operates.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
About the platform
the platform describes itself as follows: «شاهد مسلسلات خليجية،دوري روشن مباشرة»
Self-description: this is the platform's claim about itself, not an independent assessment
source, checked 2026-07-28
the service is owned and operated by MBC FZ LLC, licence No. 30391, a limited liability company registered in Dubai (UAE), Building 3, Dubai Media City · the source is dated 2025-02-05
Terms of use, version of 5 February 2025
source, checked 2026-07-28
this is a showcase of on-demand video and live TV channels, not a platform for creators: the terms make no provision for users to upload their own video
User content is limited to comments and resharing of reels
source, checked 2026-07-28
Sources diverge: the Arabic front page introduces the service with the line «مسلسلات مجانية، قنوات مباشرة، افلام» ("free series, live channels, films")
source, checked 2026-07-28
Content
features with user content do exist but are cut down: everyone can watch, like and share reels, while only paying subscribers leave comments
The COMMUNITY GUIDELINES section
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
the MBC group reports: MBC SHAHID revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was 459.9 million Saudi riyals, up 17.5% year on year; net profit was 47.4 million against 13.3 million a year earlier · the source is dated 2026-05-10
The group's press release of 10 May 2026; it does not disclose subscriber numbers
source, checked 2026-07-28
Pricing
the European storefront names three tiers: free (0 euros), VIP at 12.99 euros a month and VIP | BigTime at 15.99 euros a month
Prices depend on the country of display; the page was served to us in euros
source, checked 2026-07-28
access is sold in periods of 7 days, 30 days, 3 months and 12 months; advertising-supported plans have no time limit
The ACCESS TO THE SERVICE section
source, checked 2026-07-28
the access models listed are advertising-supported (AVOD), subscription (SVOD), mixed, telecom operator plans bundled with their services, vouchers and coupons, payment through iTunes and Google Play
Clause 41 of the terms
source, checked 2026-07-28
Limits and restrictions
the minimum speed for SD quality is 2.0 Mbit/s; for 720p from 3.0 Mbit/s is recommended, for 1080p from 5.0 Mbit/s, for 4K from 17.0 Mbit/s
The CONTENT section
source, checked 2026-07-28
the number of devices for simultaneous viewing depends on the plan and is described on a page of the service's help centre; the terms name no specific number
__
source, checked 2026-07-28
Restrictions
the service may be used from 18 or from the age of majority in your country; minors only with the consent and supervision of an adult
The THE SERVICE section
source, checked 2026-07-28
content is available mainly in the country where the account was set up, and only where the service operates and holds screening rights
The CONTENT section
source, checked 2026-07-28
it is separately forbidden to use artificial intelligence tools and deepfake technologies to alter the service's material, falsely attribute statements and distribute reworked content · the source is dated 2025-02-05
The THE SERVICE section, version of 5 February 2025
source, checked 2026-07-28
Legal
any feedback, suggestions, ideas and graphics sent to the service "become the property of MBC for ever" with no reward for the sender
The User Submissions section
source, checked 2026-07-28
the terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, with exclusive jurisdiction in the courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
The concluding provisions of the terms
source, checked 2026-07-28
the personal data controller is MBC FZ LLC, Dubai Media City, Building 3, Dubai, UAE; a separate provision is made for users of the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom
MBC Shahid privacy notice
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
the robots.txt file closes the site to all robots and opens it by name to Googlebot, Bingbot, Yandex, Applebot, Baiduspider, DuckDuckBot, LinkedInBot, Twitterbot, OAI-AdsBot and several others
OUR reading of the file on the date of the check
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: ar
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
the site has three interface language versions: Arabic, English and French
The language switcher in the header
source, checked 2026-07-28
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · region: Middle East · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions