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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

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Media & Advertising news

The UAE and Saudi Arabia are key growth markets where there is rising demand for premium cinematic experiences Imax

Imax seeks investors in its vision of growth in the Gulf

Imax Corporation, the US cinema technology giant, is in discussions with Gulf investors including sovereign wealth funds as it seeks to deepen its presence in one of its fastest-growing markets. The UAE and Saudi Arabia rank among Imax’s top 20 global markets, its popularity driven by rising demand for premium cinematic experiences. “We’re meeting various […]

An entrepreneur's pitch on Unicorn Hunters. The production team is in 'advanced talks' with Saudi and Qatari-owned media

Gulf startups get ready for their close-up on reality TV

First it was Shark Tank, now it’s Unicorn Hunters. Reality TV has become the latest pathway for Gulf startups to access venture capital.  The second season of Shark Tank Dubai is airing now in the UAE – an Arabic version of the Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank format in which entrepreneurs make presentations to a panel of venture […]

Social media users concerned about their privacy are turning to decentralised platforms

It’s not just Elon Musk critics flocking to X rival Bluesky

Social media challenger Bluesky hit 20 million users this month, mostly by attracting people who have grown disillusioned with X and its owner Elon Musk. Bluesky has gained roughly 100,000 users a day since the US presidential election, when Musk was a full-throated supporter of Donald Trump. Its global user base reached 15 million people […]

MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is the world's most popular YouTuber with 329 million subscribers

UAE marketing enters the YouTube age with MrBeast video

Why is the world’s most popular YouTuber scaling the Burj Khalifa? He is helping the UAE to unlock a fresh demographic, marketing experts have told AGBI. MrBeast – a 26-year-old American whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson – is a pop culture phenomenon. His channel has 329 million subscribers and his gameshow-esque videos have racked […]

MBC is one of the largest media and entertainment companies in the Mena region, operating 13 free-to-air television channels

PIF to acquire 54% stake in MBC Group for $2bn

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has agreed to acquire a 54 percent stake in MBC Group for SAR7.5 billion ($2 billion). The fund will buy Istedamah Holding Company’s entire stake through a private transaction priced at SAR41.60 per share, MBC Group said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday. The transaction […]

Clothing, Hat, Aircraft

Saudi Arabia pins branding hopes on Riyadh Air launch

Saudi Arabia still hasn’t found the magic sauce for branding its social and economic reforms.  Hopes are high that the launch of Riyadh Air will do for the kingdom what Emirates airline did for Dubai, industry experts say. “We saw the journey of the UAE, how brands started there then became iconic on a global […]

Tom Cruise filming a scene in Abu Dhabi's Liwa desert for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, released in 2023

Abu Dhabi increases rebate to attract more TV and film

Abu Dhabi has increased the rebate available to TV and film production companies as regional competition hots up.  In a bid to entice further production from Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world to shoot in the emirate, Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) announced that from 2025 productions can apply for a 35 percent rebate, up […]

Lionel Messi poses for a photo at Dubai Expo 2020. He and his Argentina teammates will soon be appearing on 'giant billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road' to advertise property

Project stardust: why Dubai developers still want celeb tie-ins

Lionel Messi, Rohit Sharma and Chris Hemsworth are just some of the famous faces who have promoted UAE real estate in recent years. Superstar sportsmen and Hollywood heroes do not come cheap, but are they really a good investment for developers or just an excuse for the CEO to get a selfie?  Many industry observers […]

Redbird Spectator

Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI sells The Spectator for $131m

RedBird IMI, a US investment group backed by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, has sold the British magazine The Spectator to hedge fund boss Paul Marshall. The deal with Marshall, through his Old Queen Street Ventures fund, was worth £100 million ($131 million). Marshall is co-founder and chief investment officer of the global hedge fund […]

Paramount The Godfather An offer they can't refuse? Among the best-known films from Paramount Pictures, currently the subject of two takeover bids, is The Godfather, from 1972

Abu Dhabi-backed financier among bidders for Hollywood giant

A New York investment company backed by Abu Dhabi is part of a group that has launched a bid to take over Paramount Global, one of Hollywood’s biggest entertainment companies. The conglomerate, led by the industry veteran Edgar Bronfman Jr, a former CEO of Warner Music Group, submitted a $4.3 billion bid on Monday to […]

Turkish transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that the user rights of social media accounts belonging to Turkish citizens will be protected

Turkey lifts ban after Instagram agrees to demands

Turkey has lifted its more than week-long ban on Instagram after the social media company agreed to collaborate with the government to address its concerns. The ban was removed on Saturday night after Instagram promised to work on demands regarding “catalogue crimes” and censorship on users, transport and infrastructure minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in a […]

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hit out at social media platforms on Monday after his government blocked Instagram

Turkey’s Instagram ban hits $57m-a-day ecommerce trade

For four days and counting, Instagram has been blocked in Turkey – not only putting a dent in the social lives of millions of users but also placing additional pressure on an economy under strain.  Turkish regulators gave no reason when they imposed a ban on the Meta-owned platform on August 2.  However, the shutdown […]

Redbird IMI The Spectator Paul Marshall

Abu Dhabi-backed Redbird IMI set to sell The Spectator

Redbird IMI, a US investment group backed by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments, is understood to be selling The Spectator magazine to hedge fund boss Paul Marshall. It is understood a deal with Marshall, through his Queen Street Ventures fund, would value the magazine in the region of £90 million ($114 million) to £120 million […]

Nadhim Zahawi, formerly chancellor of the UK, is thought to be leading a consortium of investors for a £600m bid

UAE’s RedBird IMI hopes for speedy sale of The Telegraph

Nadhim Zahawi, the former chancellor of the UK, is fronting one of seven bids to buy the Daily Telegraph newspaper and The Spectator magazine, which is owned by RedBird IMI, a US investment group backed by Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments. The deadline for the first round of bidding was completed on Friday, although more offers […]

Du's revenue grew 7 percent to AED3.6 billion in the April to June period, compared to AED3.3 billion a year earlier

Du quarterly profit jumps 46% as subscribers rise

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which operates the Du and Virgin mobile brands in the UAE, reported a 46 percent jump year on year in net profit to AED581 million ($158 million) as subscriber numbers increased. Revenue grew 7 percent to AED3.6 billion in the April to June period, compared to AED3.3 billion a year […]