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Middle East internet ad spend to hit 4.5%
Internet advertising spend in the Middle East is expected to experience 'impressive' growth over the coming three years, although will still be significantly lower than elsewhere in the world. The latest annual Arab Media Outlook report, produced by the Dubai Press Club and Value Partners, found that while today about $56m or 1% of the total media advertising spend is online in the Middle East, this figure will rise to at least 4.5% by 2013 to around $266m.
Saudi to regulate internet news sites
Saudi Arabia is planning to introduce a licensing requirement and other regulations for its indigenous internet news sites, the National has reported. The draft regulations, still under study, would require internet-based news sites to request a government licence and to respond to complaints about their content that are received by the ministry of culture and information.
MediaME.com adds AdBlogArabia
The region's first and largest user-generated community for advertising and media professionals, mediaME.com has announced the acquisition of AdBlogArabia.com. The blog will continue to serve its fans and with a similar look and feel, but will add some content and features from mediaME, the company said. 'AdBlogArabia will remain an active community that will serve and benefit from mediaME's 7,000 registered media and advertising professionals,' said Zeid Nasser, founder and CEO of mediaME.com, part of MediaScope Ltd.
Facebook to stop Microsoft-run banner ads
Facebook has announced that it has agreed with Microsoft to stop running its banner ads across all pages of the social networking portal, Reuters has reported. However, Microsoft, the exclusive provider of Web search on Facebook, will continue to sell text-based search ads on the website as the partners extended the arrangement beyond 2011, when it had been due to expire. The change will take place over the next 30 days, Facebook said.
The National offers content through Kindle
The National, the flagship English-language newspaper of the Abu Dhabi Media Co (ADMC), has begun offering its daily content through Amazon's e-reader, the Kindle. The move makes the company the first Middle East publisher to digitize and distribute its content to global partners such as Amazon. "The National's launch on Kindle is a natural progression of ADMC's digital strategy, designed to broaden its digital offerings and pursue new digital content delivery channels," ADMC said.
WAN-IFRA establishes local presence in Middle East
The Middle East Publishing Association (MEPA) has recently announced its representation of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN- IFRA) in the Middle East. WAN-IFRA is seeking to establish strong local presence in the Middle-East with local activity through committees, business development initiatives, research projects, events and training.
ADMC to offer EPL over internet
Abu Dhabi Media Co (ADMC), which had won a three-year contract for exclusive regional rights to broadcast the English Premier League (EPL) last year, has said that it will broadcast all EPL events online, starting next season, The National has reported. Football fans will have a choice between two methods of viewing the games over broadband - either web television or internet protocol television (IPTV) - or, in markets without good broadband penetration, a subscription to a high-definition satellite pay-TV service, delivered through a set-top box. Each offering will have a different price, and all offerings will be viewed on television screens if desired.
Connect Ads to represent Facebook in Mena
Connect Ads, a wholly owned subsidiary of LINKdotNET, has announced that it has been appointed by social networking website Facebook to become its official representative in the Middle East and North Africa region. The digital advertising firm also represents regional portals including MSN Arabia and MSN Maghreb.
Jordan moots ATV purchase
The Jordanian government is considering the purchase of the local television station, ATV, owned by the Arab Telemedia Group (ATG), Jordan Times has reported. Nabil Sharif , media affairs minister said that a connection between Jordan Television and ATV will be announced soon. ATV was scheduled to start transmission with two channels on January 31, 2010.
Lebanese web tracker service turns profit
A graduation project which turned into a web-based analytics company called Woopra has managed to cross the 100,000 customer milestone after launching its commercial service last October, The National has reported. The company's web-based analytics software allows internet publishers to track, in real-time, the number of visitors to their sites. The service was launched as a free offering and attracted a long waiting list of users wishing to test the software. In October, the company discarded the waiting list, opening the system up and charging users a monthly fee depending on the volume of traffic to their sites. Woopra is now cash-flow positive and able to fund its expansion plans with its own revenue, co-founder Elie Khoury told the daily.
Al Arabiya Dhs100,000 fine confirmed
News channel Al Arabiya TV will have to pay Dhs100,000 in compensation to a Saudi prince for failing to air an interview with the royal, the Dubai Appeals Court ruled, according to Gulf News. Presiding Judge Ahmad Eisa of the Appeals Court confirmed the primary judgment, and ordered Al Arabiya TV to pay the fine in civil compensation to Prince Dr Saif Al Islam Bin Saud Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The Dubai Civil Court earlier termed the compensatory amount as "symbolic compensation" and said that the channel had failed to adhere to the media code of ethics and breached the nobility and morality of journalism.
Ad rates in local FM stations rise in Arab World
A report by Arab Advisors Group has said that average local FM stations' ad rates in the Arab World had increased from $101 in 2006 to $112 in 2008 and up to $125 in 2009. However, average advertising rates for Pan Arab radio stations exceed by a substantial margin those of local radio stations, as some of these stations are the only FM radio stations that broadcast in Saudi Arabia, the region's largest consumer market. Countries covered in the report include Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman Qatar, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.
Saudi issues first private FM radio licence
With a SR75m bid, Saudi alliance Alf Alf has been declared the winner of the first of five private FM radio licences in the kingdom, Arab News has reported. According to the licence, the alliance has to cover 30 areas, 15 of which are mandatory. Saudi Specialized Publishing Co, Rotana Audio Visual Co, and Arab Radio and Television Network (ART) are among ten more short-listed firms competing for the four remaining licences. Culture and information minister, Abdul Aziz Khoja said the licences will be issued in the coming eight weeks.
Jordan Radio opens sixth station
The Jordanian Radio and Television Corp has announced the launch of its sixth FM radio station, Hadaf FM, Petra news agency has reported. The new station will tackle the issues and concerns of the youth sector with a focus on local, regional and international sports events.
CNBC Europe eyes regional bureau in Bahrain
CNBC, a subsidiary of NBC Universal, plans to open a regional bureau in Bahrain, as it seeks to capture a greater share of the market for financial news in the Gulf region, Zawya Dow Jones has reported. The new bureau will produce regular English-language business programming on the region, where CNBC has a local franchise Arabic service.
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