Dori Media was founded in 1996 by Yair Dori (born in
Buenos Aires 1947), who in the early 1990s started importing Argentine soaps to the Israeli market, which became a huge success; and led to the creation of cable channels, which dedicate themselves to air
Latin soaps. After the soap opera
Chiquititas became a huge phenomenon in Israel, Dori approached producer
Cris Morena about developing a new project. At the time, she was seeking finance for her new project,
Rebelde Way. In 2001, he accepted an offer to invest in the project, which ended up being a success in
Argentina and in Israel. Afterwards, it was sold to over 50 countries and was remade by
Mexico (
Rebelde) and
India (
Remix), among others. He also financed another Cris Morena project
Rincon de Luz (2003). In 2003 Morena decided not to produce a third season of
Rebelde Way and produced
Floricienta with production company
RGB Entertainment, while Dori Media only got the distribution rights for it in
East Europe. The company then started to co-produce with another Argentine companies; with
Pol-ka, Dori Media produced
Hombres de honor,
Padre Coraje,
Sos Mi Vida and
Dr. Amor.; and with Central Park Productions SA, the highly successful
Lalola; and in October 2007 acquired 50% of the company. In 2009 pilot for an American version of
Lalola, entitled "Eva Adams", was filmed as a co-production with Sony Pictures Television, and
Fox Broadcasting Company, starring
Rhea Seehorn and
James Van Der Beek, but wasn't picked up for a regular series. On 21 March 2005, the company had an
initial public offering (IPO) on the
Alternative Investment Market of the
London Stock Exchange, raising £3.23 million at a market value of £21.82 million, at a price of 118 pence per share; The share price reached a high of 190 pence during 2007, but later gone down below the level of the IPO. In 2006, Dori Media produced its first TV Series in Argentina independently,
El Refugio (de los Sueños); with part of the
Rebelde Way cast and staff. In 2007 Dori Media became the first telenovela partner channel on
YouTube, which attracted more than 8m views, few weeks following its launch. Also in 2007 founder Yair Dori sold most of his shares in the company to
Mapal Communications Ltd. and
Miella Venture Partners Inc. In 2009 Dori Media created a
TV format,
"uMan", a cross-platform
realty show, where eight contestants enter a "Lab" for 21 days during which their every move is controlled by viewers. The format was sold to few broadcasters in Europe. In May 2011 Dori Media delisted its shares from the London Stock Exchange. In 2014 Dori Media establishes the first Multi-Channel Network in Israel - MeMeMe Studios. The company is engaged in the production and distribution of digital content for the Internet and initially via YouTube. ==TV Channels==