Sunday, November 27, 2011

TECOM Media Cluster Highlights Opportunities in Regional Sector at ‘Middle East Broadcast Summit’


Dubai, Untied Arab Emirates - Sunday, November 27th 2011 [ME NewsWire]

The rapid progress and enormous diversity of digital solutions, as well as convergence of media, along with the growing demand for premium indigenous content offers an extremely promising future for the regional broadcast industry. Therefore, it is imperative to adapt to this rapidly changing scenario if the sector is to capture emerging opportunities, according toAbdulla Al-Mohaisin, Director - Business Development, TECOM Investments’ Media Cluster.

Al-Mohaisin’s comment came during his presentation at the third Middle East Broadcasting Summit, organized by Association and Communications Events and supported by TECOM Investment’s Media Cluster.

The event brought together key stakeholders including CEOs, directors, senior managers, engineers, technicians, and advertising executives from the broadcasting, telecommunications and media industries to share best practices and discuss opportunities for growth and reforms in the sector.

The summit featured seminars on television satellite and new media broadcasting, as well as traditional, contemporary and emerging content distribution platforms. Focusing on the key issues for the region’s extensive broadcasting industry, it drew regional as well as international broadcasters, associations, speakers and developers of market leading technology.

During his presentation at the summit, Abdulla Al-Mohaisin deliberated on the challenges as well as the opportunities that lay ahead for the broadcasting industry.

He added: “To succeed in a radically different landscape of media convergence, broadcast players must understand where new growth will come from and how to capitalize on it. In particular, they must deliver content on multiple platforms. Also, it is vital to ensure close collaboration and strong commitment of all stakeholders in the content creation and distribution value chain, among technology vendors, financial investors and government policy regulators.”

Speakers at the summit also included Dr. Riyadh K Najm, Assistant Deputy Minister of Engineering, Ministry of Culture and Information, Saudi Arabia; Abdul Nasser Al Kaabi, Chief Technology Officer, Abu Dhabi Media Company; Naser Shrouf, Head of Strategy and Distribution, Middle East and Africa, Deutsche Welle; Samer Abdin, Co-Founder, Istikana; Mohammad Burhan CEO, CNBC Arabia, and Sumantra Dutta, Country Head - Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, STAR TV.

The event comes at a time when the broadcast landscape is witnessing a perceptible shift. With an average of 60 per cent of the population in the GCC below 35, media consumption is mirroring this change. According to Price Waterhouse Coopers in 2010, the broadband and internet household penetration levels in the MENA region are expected to increase to 38.5 per cent and 64.3 per cent respectively. Backed by a young population and increase in broadband penetration in the region, digital migration is projected to be at full force in the coming years.

TECOM Investments’ Media Cluster – Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and International Media Production Zone – provides a complete value chain of specialised offerings that have created an established community hub for the media and content creation industries in the region. The TECOM Media Cluster comprises over 1,800 companies including freelance media professionals, start-ups and SMEs as well as media giants such as BBC, MBC Group, CNBC, China Central Television (CCTV) and Turner Broadcasting System Europe.

-Ends-

About Dubai Media City

Strategically located at the crossroads of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Dubai Media City, a member of TECOM Investments, is rapidly emerging as the region's media hub. The City provides an advanced infrastructure for media-related businesses to operate globally out of Dubai. Dubai Media City is the place where activities Publishing, Music, Film, New Media, Leisure & Entertainment, Broadcasting, Media & Marketing Services, and Information Agencies will thrive. The facility offers an environment that allows companies and individuals to operate with collective synergy and freedom.

Companies based in Dubai Media City have the unique edge of commercial benefits derived from our free zone status including 100 % business ownership and exemption from personal income and corporate taxes. Since its official opening in January 2001, Dubai Media City has grown to become a thriving media community of over 1400companies and hundreds of freelance media professionals. Several global media giants and promising entrepreneurial ventures have joined this unique community.

About Dubai Studio City

Launched in Feb, 2005, Dubai Studio City (DSC), a member of TECOM Investments, offers a complete technical and community infrastructure catering to the film, TV, radio production and broadcast industries. Built on an area of more than 20 million square feet, DSC aims to attract production and broadcast companies, as well as a wide range of support services, including providers for animation, dubbing, makeup, costume design, set design and construction, casting, telnet agencies, telecine, and laboratory facilities. DSC will feature pre-built studios, sound stages, workshops, backlots and stage areas, post-production studios, and satellite communication services. The cluster will also house film & television academies, commercial offices, entertainment & retail spaces, and hotels & residential facilities to accommodate crews and cast. DSC’s Location Approval Services (LAS) provides a single window for applying for shooting permits.

International Media Production Zone

Dubai's International Media Production Zone (IMPZ) seeks to create a unique cluster environment for media production companies from across the industry value chain, and from across the world, to interact and collaborate effectively. IMPZ will be exclusively catering to the graphic arts, printing, publishing and packaging activities. As a master developer, IMPZ will provide an environment of growth by building key facilities, investing in infrastructure, and forming a unique free zone that incorporates industrial, commercial, residential and community service projects under its mantle. The vast complex will be housed on a territory of over 43 million square feet of land, in the heart of commercial Dubai.

The IMPZ initiative is part of Dubai's vision to develop itself into a global media hub. It will provide a pro-business environment, sophisticated technology and community infrastructure to support and foster the growth of media production. www.impz.ae

Contacts

Zeba Ahmad

APCO Worldwide (JiWin Public Relations)

+9714 361 3590 (direct)

+9714 361 3333 (switchboard)

zahmad@apcoworldwide.com

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