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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

Media & Advertising overview

Media & Advertising news

3A5CD31 Multiracial family of three seated together on couch enjoying TV time in cozy living room adorned with plants and artwork

Starzplay reports record growth driven by AI

Abu Dhabi-backed streaming platform Starzplay said it made record revenue last year, passing $100 million for the first time, supported by “artificial intelligence content discovery.” In 2022, the Abu Dhabi-based ADQ and a unit of federal telecommunications company e& (formerly Etisalat) bought a majority stake in Starzplay for $420 million. Since then revenue at the […]

The influencer academy course set up by Dubai’s tourism authority and content agency Beautiful Destinations will last 3 months

Dubai doubles down on social media with ‘influencer academy’

Sunsets, skyscrapers, shopping sprees. Type #Dubai into any social media platform and you will find thousands of them. Whether they’re promotional films or holiday snaps, the quality and reach of these images can vary widely. Now Dubai’s tourism authority is setting up an “influencer academy” to teach aspiring digital creators how to make the most […]

A poster advertising HBO drama 'The Last of Us'. The show airs on OSN in the Gulf under its deal with Warner Bros

Warner-OSN tipped to inspire more deals for Mena streamers

The tie-up between US giant Warner Bros Discovery and Dubai’s OSN Streaming could be a sign of things to come for the Middle East’s entertainment industry, media insiders have told AGBI.  Warner Bros said on Monday it would pay $57 million for a one-third stake in the streaming business, a subsidiary of Orbit Showtime Network […]

Dune Part Two, a Warner Bros film, has grossed more than $700m worldwide. Warner Bros Discovery is targeting the Mena streaming market

Warner Bros Discovery buys 30% stake in OSN Streaming

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has bought a stake in a subsidiary of Dubai-based satellite TV company Orbit Showtime Network Group, in an attempt to tap into the rapidly expanding Middle Eastern streaming market. The US-based media and entertainment conglomerate will acquire a 30 percent stake in OSN Streaming for KD17.5 million ($57 million), Kuwait Projects […]

Redbird IMI ITV Coronation Street

UK’s ITV in sights of Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI

RedBird IMI, the Abu Dhabi-backed US investment management company thwarted in its attempt to take control of the UK’s Telegraph newspaper group, has turned its attention to a deal involving the British broadcaster ITV. Discussions have taken place, according to reports, with a view to merging the business of ITV Studios with All3Media, which was […]

Nayla Tueni told Frank Kane over lunch that the financial crisis in Lebanon 'taught us that, if we are going to survive, we need to expand'

Nayla Tueni: ‘I am a journalist, a journalist, a journalist’

Nayla Tueni is as close as you get in the Middle East to media aristocracy. She is the fourth generation of a family that, for the best part of a century – through wars, assassinations, man-made disasters and economic crises – has kept publishing Annahar, a Lebanese broadsheet described by Time magazine as “the newspaper […]

Smiling Arab Muslim Islamic 30s woman user in headscarf black hijab using phone at home sitting on couch middle eastern girl lady holding mobile

KHC would consider TikTok stake if Musk bought in

Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s investment company Kingdom Holding (KHC) would be interested in investing in ByteDance’s TikTok if Elon Musk or others offered to buy it, CEO Talal Ibrahim al-Maiman told Al Arabiya TV on Wednesday. The search to find a buyer for the Chinese-owned popular short video app continues after it went dark and […]

Digital billboards: Backlite Media’s “Dubai Jawhara” on the Sheikh Zayed Road, between The World Trade Centre and Dubai Mall

The million-dirham draw of digital billboards

Revenues for billboard operators have grown as much as eightfold in the past few years as digitalisation has given out-of-home (OOH) advertising a notable boost. Sometimes seen as a bellwether for the local economy, billboards get plenty of viewing time in places such as Dubai during morning and evening traffic rush hours when cars are […]

Halo AI uses 'agentic' AI to connect influencers with brands

Saudi networking platform Halo AI secures $6m funding

Saudi networking platform Halo AI has secured $6 million in seed funding to expand globally in a funding round led by Raed Ventures and Shorooq Partners, highlighting the Gulf region’s enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Halo AI seeks to connect content creators and brands using highly autonomous or “agentic” AI technology developed by tech leaders such […]

PIF Dazn Diletta Leotta

PIF close to $1bn stake deal in sports network Dazn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is close to agreeing a deal to acquire a 10 percent stake in the UK-based global sports network Dazn.  The deal, which has been under discussion for more than a year, is said to be worth at least $1 billion, which would value the broadcaster at $10 billion, the New […]

More than 170 productions have been shot in Abu Dhabi since 2013, among them films from the hit franchises Star Wars, Dune and Mission: Impossible

Abu Dhabi raises TV and film rebate to lure studios

Abu Dhabi is hoping to attract the best of Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world to the emirate via an increased TV and film rebate that could save studios as much as $10 million on each production. Abu Dhabi Film Commission increased its refund for productions from 30 percent to 35 percent in October as […]

Saudi Arabia had 35.1 million social media users in January 2024, according to DataPortal

Snap tips Riyadh to become nerve centre for Mena social media

Social media giant Snap is betting on Saudi Arabia becoming a leader in the Middle East’s online creator economy, a company spokesperson has told AGBI. The developer of Snapchat announced in late November that it had opened an office and a base for content creators on the outskirts of Riyadh – its first in the […]