Muslim Pro ventures into entertainment with Qalbox
Muslim lifestyle mobile app Muslim Pro has tapped into the world of entertainment to bring a library of wholesome, Muslim-inspired content.
Aptly named Qalbox, the streaming service delivers a curated scope of genres for the Muslim community to showcase diverse representations and nuances of Muslims worldwide.
Although its parent company Bitsmedia is based in Singapore, Qalbox was recently launched in Malaysia, as the company believes Malaysia is one of its key consumer markets.
At the moment, the streaming service offers 120 titles that range across documentaries, films, kids’ programmes, and more.
“That’s just the start. We’ll be adding more titles every week - that’s in our pipeline.
“We have teamed up with Astro, Pixel Play, and Nads Media to showcase Southeast Asian content,” said Bitsmedia co-chief executive officer, Nik Emir Din.
Muslim Pro taps into its current audience pool for customer acquisition but hopes to tap into younger users, families, and any digitally savvy users interested in consuming Muslim-inspired content.
“The youth spend only a few hours in the mosque - beyond that, they are on their mobile phones. We had to find a way to engage with them,” he said.
At the launch, the media was given a preview of a Qalbox original series, called “I Am Muslim”, which is a short docu-series that takes an intimate look at the lives of 8 Muslim individuals with shared experiences from around the world including Indonesia, Colombia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
With other popular streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, and AppleTV, how does Qalbox compete?
Nik said it’s not necessarily about competing with other streaming platforms, but instead providing the audience with an alternative.
“The representation of Islam on other platforms is usually negative. There are different interpretations of what it means to be inclusive or diverse.
“I think that where they’re moving towards is perhaps content that is not so relevant towards the Muslim community,” he added.
Users can access Qalbox via its web app or the Muslim Pro app.
