2006
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Reuters sells Factiva to Dow Jones
Reuters is selling its 50% stake in the archive news service Factiva to joint venture partner Dow Jones & Co in a $160m deal, the Guardian Unlimited reported. Factiva was founded by Reuters and Dow Jones in 1999. Reuters will continue to supply its news to Factiva.
Hafez dispute drags on
A dispute over Dubai-based satellite TV station MBC's bid to air a biographical series on the late Egyptian musician Abdul Halim Hafez has gone to the Dubai Appeal Court, Gulf News reported. Hafez's heirs have objected to MBC showing the series without their approving the script and cast. Dubai courts have already rejected two applications by lawyers acting on behalf of Hafez's heirs to have the series stopped.
Concept adds to RTA bus deal
Concept Outdoor has won a three-year contract with Road and Transport Authority Dubai, making it the sole media seller for all advertising space inside public transport buses. Concept also has the contract for the outside of the authority's fleet of buses.
Flip has good quarter
Flip Media says it won a number of new accounts Q3 2006 including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Dubai Festival City, Du Telecom, i2 and Qatar Airways. The company introduced a third version of its Chameleon solution in the period, which Flip says will help clients more easily integrate content, media, online shopping and user participation into their websites.
Outdoor ad agencies meet
Outdoor advertising firms in the UAE have taken steps towards forming a trade association, according to Campaign Middle East. Founding members are Concept Group, Emirates Neon, Group Plus and Kassab Media and Marketing. Industry experts have welcomed the move, but details on what issues the group will address are still to be worked through.
Active adds five new clients
Active Public Relations and Marketing, the Dubai Media City based agency, has recently added five new clients to its portfolio: Elite International, Extreme Networks, McAfee, R&M and Delta Partners. The agency has also said that there has been increased demand for its strategic services including media training, media perception audits and messaging workshops.
OBG, Sagia tie-up
The Oxford Business Group has signed a strategic partnership with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to produce Emerging Saudi Arabia 2007, an English language economic and political review of the country. Sagia will be instrumental in assisting the OBG team with data collection and research. Written by a team of analysts based in Riyadh, the 200 page report will be published in Q1 2007.
New identity for Al Rajhi
Global brand agency Enterprise IG has devised a new corporate identity for Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi Bank. Enterprise shortened the bank's name from the Al Rajhi Banking and Investment Corporation and also focused on the bank's branding development and brand architecture. This included all Al Rajhi products such as stationery, communication templates and the entire retail environment design of their branches, ATM drive-through stations as well as share trading branches.
ASBU gets 2012 Olympics rights
The Arab States' Broadcasting Union has secured the Middle East television and Internet rights to the 2012 Olympics in London according to agency reports citing a statement from the International Olympic Committee. The $21m deal should allow viewers in the region to continue seeing the world's premier sporting event for free via state broadcasters, as they have done since 1976.
11 killed at Iraqi TV station
Gunmen forced their way into the offices of a new TV station in Baghdad and killed 11 members of its staff on Thursday, reported Reuters. Shaabiya, a satellite channel owned by the National Justice and Progress Party, has yet to commence broadcasting. The political party's leader was among the dead, which also included security guards, technicians and administrative staff.
Dubai Metro promotion run
Dubai Metro officials are handing out free bottled water and chocolate dates in a three month promotion to try and raise awareness about the project. A transport official said people need to learn that the Metro, which doesn't open until 2009, is a "vital service being built for their benefit".
Censors pass Musharraf's memoirs
After a week of scrutiny, Dubai censors have passed a controversial autobiography by Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, according to Gulf News. 'In the Line of Fire' makes mention of a nuclear scientist under Musharraf's regime who used Dubai to sell nuclear secrets to other countries. No parts of the book have been blocked, according to a local book seller.
Motivate launches Stuff magazine
Motivate Publishing has launched gadget and men's lifestyle magazine Stuff for the Middle East. It will be published monthly and replaces the international edition, which will no longer be distributed in this market, the Dubai-based publisher said. There will be a launch circulation of 15,000 copies.
Dubai firms, nod for congress
UK-based Emap Communications has appointed Dubai-based Concept Media as sales agent for the Middle East, and RetailME magazine as official media partner for the World Retail Congress in Barcelona from 28-30 March 2007. Emap Communications is organiseing the congress, which will also see the World Retail Awards make their debut.
BBC World Farsi TV
BBC World Service will launch a television news and information channel in the Farsi language for Iran in 2008, the broadcaster announced Tuesday. The service will complement the BBC's existing Persian radio and online services for Iran. It will be freely available to anyone with a satellite dish or cable connection in the region.
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