Media & Advertising Swedish gaming group defends Saudi deal Lars Wingefors, Embracer's CEO, said 'only a handful of players' could provide the capital it needs. The PIF is buying an 8% stake June 13, 2022
Media & Advertising Disney announces major leadership shakeup Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Chapek announced a major leadership shift on Thursday, promoting Dana Walden to chairman of general entertainment content as the company works to build its streaming television efforts. Walden replaces veteran Hollywood executive Peter Rice, who is leaving Disney. Both executives joined Disney in 2019 when the company acquired entertainment […] June 10, 2022
Media & Advertising How I got to the top: Aidan Christofferson, co-founder, Flashy What does your company do? We are a 10 month old startup tech company, based in Dubai, which provides a platform for scalable photography solutions for GCC customers. Whether you’re a sole entrepreneur looking to capture images for your product, or a multinational enterprise looking for thousands of images a week, our platform takes care […] June 9, 2022
Media & Advertising Disney+ takes aim at Netflix as it goes live in 16 Arab countries Disney+ launched its streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa yesterday, vying for market share in a region where the population is young but few people so far use such services. Disney+ said it had gone live in 16 Arab countries and was tailoring content for the region, including offering Arabic subtitles on […] June 9, 2022
Perimeter 81 joins the unicorns after $100m funding round Perimeter 81 is now valued at $1 billion, the Israeli cybersecurity startup has revealed, gaining unicorn status after it raised $100 million to fund product development. The fundraising, led by B Capital, marked a jump in valuation from its last round in August 2020, when the company was valued at $200 million. ION Crossover Ventures […] June 6, 2022
Media & Advertising Serie A seeks Abu Dhabi deals on TV rights, Italian Super Cup Italy’s top football league Serie A is in talks over a broadcast deal with state-backed Abu Dhabi Media and on a separate agreement to host its Super Cup in the Emirate. Home to AC Milan, Juventus and other top clubs, Serie A is looking at ways to catch up with major European leagues such as […] June 3, 2022
Media & Advertising Saudi’s leading cinema group to make films for Arabs by Arabs The kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the lifting of its 35-year ban on cinemas four years ago. The industry has since seen exponential growth and Arabic language films have been the most popular among moviegoers. This trend has now prompted Muvi Cinemas, Saudi Arabia’s homegrown cinema brand and the country’s largest theatre operator, to launch […] June 3, 2022
Media & Advertising Streaming service Starzplay planning to go public Starzplay Arabia, an Abu Dhabi-based streaming platform, expects to go public in the next two or three years, its chief executive said on Thursday. Starzplay is among the global and regional streaming players vying for a share of the burgeoning Middle East market, hoping to tap into the region’s large youth population and take advantage […] June 2, 2022
Media & Advertising Saudi Arabia’s PIF takes stake in video game giant Nintendo Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken a 5.01 percent stake in Nintendo Co Ltd as the sovereign wealth fund increases its exposure to the Japanese video gaming industry. The investment in the Kyoto-based group company was made for investment purposes, a filing said, and comes as PIF has also taken stakes in video […] May 18, 2022
Analysis Media & Advertising $4.4bn sounds a lot but e& has made the right call on Vodafone Vodafone and e&, formerly known as Etisalat, will look to launch new products globally while working together to make greater efficiencies following the UAE telco’s deal to buy a $4.4 billion stake. Following the announcement that the UAE’s biggest telecoms operator has acquired a 9.8 percent stake in British mobile operator Vodafone Group, AGBI spoke […] May 16, 2022
Banking & Finance Vodafone shares rise as telecoms group e& buys $4.4bn stake The group, formerly Emirates Telecommunications Group, said it supported the board and had no plans to buy the UK mobile operator outright. May 16, 2022
Media & Advertising Musk incurs regulators’ wrath with late Twitter stake disclosure US regulators are investigating Elon Musk’s delayed disclosure of his stake in Twitter Inc last month, the Wall Street Journal yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter. Musk disclosed a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, a delay of at least 10 days since surpassing […] May 12, 2022
Exclusive Media & Advertising Starzplay Arabia: the rise and rise of a streaming giant With new shareholders on board, Starzplay Arabia’s Danny Bates is looking to the future with renewed confidence May 9, 2022
Media & Advertising Prince Alwaleed confirms $1.9bn stake in Elon Musk’s ‘new’ Twitter Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said on Thursday billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk will be an “excellent leader” for Twitter, as he agreed to roll his $1.89 billion stake into the deal rather than cashing out. Prince Alwaleed had on April 14 opposed the buyout bid, saying the price offered by Elon Musk, the […] May 6, 2022
Microsoft partners with Epic Games to bring ‘Fortnite’ to Xbox Cloud Gaming Microsoft Corp is partnering with Epic Games to make “Fortnite” available with Xbox Cloud Gaming, Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said in a tweet on Thursday. The software behemoth has been looking to bolster its firepower in the booming videogaming market and earlier this year unveiled a $68.7 billion takeover of “Call of Duty” maker […] May 3, 2022
Media & Advertising Trump finally posts on Truth Social: “I’M BACK!” Former US president Donald Trump posted a brief message on Truth Social late Thursday for the first time since the app he founded launched two months ago, saying “I’M BACK!” Trump broke his silence as Elon Musk sealed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, which last year permanently banned Trump citing a risk of […] April 29, 2022
Media & Advertising Musk told banks he will rein in Twitter pay Elon Musk told banks that agreed to help fund his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc that he could crack down on executive and board pay at the social media company in a push to slash costs, and would develop new ways to monetize tweets, three people familiar with the matter said. Musk made the […] April 29, 2022
Media & Advertising Bloomberg reporters in Turkey acquitted over 2018 currency crisis article A Turkish court on Friday acquitted 33 people, including two Bloomberg reporters and other journalists from local media, of spreading false information about the economy in an article and tweets at the height of a currency crisis in 2018. The case followed a criminal complaint filed in August 2018 by the BDDK banking watchdog over […] April 29, 2022
Media & Advertising Comedian James Corden to leave his CBS late-night show next year British comedian James Corden said on Thursday he will exit “The Late Late Show” on CBS television in 2023 after eight years as host to explore other opportunities. Corden announced the news at an episode taping in Los Angeles. He told a studio audience that he saw the show, which he began hosting in 2015, […] April 29, 2022
Media & Advertising Dinosaurs and superheroes return to the movies Tom Cruise is preparing to walk the red carpet at Cannes, tickets for Marvel’s next film are selling fast, and a new dinosaur adventure looms large on the summer movie schedule. That gives movie theatre operators hope that their business is finally heading toward normal as they meet with Hollywood studios this week in Las Vegas at the […] April 27, 2022
Media & Advertising Kevin Hart gets $100m private equity investment Stand-up comedian and Hollywood actor Kevin Hart has launched a new media company called HARTBEAT, with a $100 million investment from private equity firm Abry Partners. Abry, which focuses on investments in the media, communication and information services space, took a minority stake in the company at an undisclosed valuation. Hart, known for his roles in films such as “Ride […] April 27, 2022
Media & Advertising Turkish President Erdogan plans visit to Saudi’s Crown Prince Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan plans to visit Saudi Arabia on Thursday and meet Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman as Ankara tries to mend ties with Riyadh after dropping a legal case on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Relations have been tense since a Saudi hit team killed Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul […] April 27, 2022
