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Media & Advertising

Media and advertising news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Tawfik Alzaidi

Saudi director’s labour of love takes the kingdom to Cannes

For the first time a Saudi film has been selected to compete in the Cannes film festival, catapulting its little-known self-taught director into the limelight. Tawfik Alzaidi was so surprised that he’d managed to break through to the big time that he kept the news that his film Norah had been accepted for the ‘Un […]

The number of customers playing digital games in Jordan expanded to just under 6 million in 2023

Jordan’s digital game spend at $82m in 2023

The total amount spent on digital games in Jordan reached $82.5 million in 2023, official data has revealed. Nearly $17 million was allocated to paid games while $7.3 million was spent on live in-game purchases, state-run Jordan News Agency said, quoting the Information and Communications Technology Association of Jordan (Intaj). Mobile games commanded the largest […]

MBC Shahid Ashghal Shaqa

Streaming platform Shahid to drive growth, says MBC TV

The Arabic TV network MBC says its new Shahid streaming platform will lead its growth after subscriptions grew 40 percent in 2023 to nearly four million.  The Saudi-owned group recently completed an IPO on the Saudi stock exchange, requiring it to open its books to the public for the first time.  It reported net profit […]

Elie Habib, co-founder of streaming service Anghami

MBC Group buys stake in Anghami

Shares of the Abu-Dhabi-based music streaming company Anghami rose by more than 80 percent this week after the release of a regulatory filing revealed that Saudi media company MBC Group has acquired a 14 percent stake. MBC Group, through its arm MBC Ventures, purchased four million ordinary shares of the Nasdaq-listed company. The purchase was […]

The UK government will pass a law to block takeovers of UK newspapers by entities linked to foreign governments

UK’s new media law threatens UAE’s Telegraph bid

A likely decision by the UK to ban foreign governments from owning British newspapers and news magazines is being seen as a setback for a UAE-backed investment company’s bid to buy the Telegraph newspaper titles. Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay announced the ban on Wednesday, saying a new law will “rule out newspaper and periodical […]

A planned Dar Global development in Oman. The company aims to shake up real estate marketing with AI

Dar Global spin-off to use AI in real estate marketing

Dar Global, the London-listed arm of the Saudi Arabian real estate developer Dar Al Arkan, is establishing a venture dedicated to finding technological solutions to real estate companies’ biggest challenges. Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Dar Global, told AGBI that the company’s new Propgenuis spin-off would introduce tools aimed at automating social media management for […]

RedBird IMI All3Media Call the Midwife

Abu Dhabi-backed venture buys UK TV production giant 

RedBird IMI, partly owned by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, is buying Britain’s largest independent television producer All3Media in a deal worth £1.15 billion ($1.45 billion). A joint venture between International Media Investments and New York private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, RedBird IMI is also currently bidding for the UK’s Daily Telegraph newspaper All3Media […]

The Big Time fund will be used to support pan-Arab cinema and production facilities have already been developed at AlUla

Saudi Arabia sets up Big Time film investment fund

Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority has set up the Big Time investment fund to support pan-Arab cinema, in Riyadh’s latest push to develop soft power through sports and culture. The authority’s head Turki Alalshikh said during a visit to Cairo that the entertainment authority would act as the Big Time fund’s main sponsor along with […]

Tihama operates WH Smith branches at airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and the UAE

Tihama board member rebels as group’s losses exceed $37m

A board member at troubled Saudi Arabian media group Tihama has rebelled over the company’s decision not to appeal against a court ruling that blocks its rescue plan. Sultan Abdul Latif Nuqli, a non-executive director, has filed a unilateral request to appeal against the Riyadh Commercial Court decision to reject Tihama’s restructuring proposal. The move […]

Arsenal's Declan Rice in action. Dubai real estate developer Sobha Realty has secured the naming rights for Arsenal's training ground

Sobha Realty strikes sponsorship deal with Arsenal

Dubai real estate developer Sobha Realty has secured the naming rights for the training ground of English Premier League football club Arsenal. Arsenal’s facility in Hertfordshire will be known as the Sobha Realty Training Centre. It is the first time the naming rights have been sold. The deal is part of Sobha’s plan to expand […]

People are still watching full-size TVs rather than streaming programmes on their phone

Saudi TV fights off the smartphone challenge

Smart television is holding up as the main platform for accessing sports, news and entertainment in Saudi Arabia, despite the boom in streaming services that can be watched on smartphones, a leading media researcher said this week.   “In the past decade there was a lot of transformation in Saudi. New devices, behaviours and trends,” said […]

A WH Smith branch. Tihama operates the brand's shops in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Tihama shareholders call for vote to oust board members

Shareholders in the troubled media conglomerate Tihama are calling for a vote to dismiss members of the board. The company, which operates WH Smith shops in Saudi Arabia, said in a filing to the Saudi Stock Exchange that it had received a letter from a group of shareholders who collectively own 10 percent of the […]

Tihama operates the WH Smith brand in Saudi Arabia

Saudi media group Tihama to appeal against court ruling

The company that operates WH Smith shops in Saudi Arabia is to appeal against a court ruling that blocks its financial rescue plan. The Commercial Court in Riyadh rejected the proposal from media group Tihama on Monday. Shareholders approved the financial restructuring plan recommended by Tihama’s board of directors last month. More than 99 percent […]

Poddster co-founder and CEO Vuk Zlatarov. The Dubai-based podcast company is expanding its studio network across the UAE and Saudi Arabia

Poddster builds on Mena’s podcast popularity

Poddster aims to “democratise” Middle East podcast production by expanding its network of recording studios, capitalising on high listener figures and rising interest in independent content in the Mena region. Founded by Vuk Zlatarov and Ivan Zeljkovic, the Dubai-based podcast company plans to increase its number of UAE studios from three to seven, and launch […]