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Al Arabiya News Network, in partnership with MBC Media Solutions (MMS), the commercial arm of MBC Group, held a star-studded event on Wednesday to announce the launch of the new digital content brand ‘Akthar’.
Al Arabiya— the Arabic-language News Network in MENA—is introducing Akthar to expand its digital content offering and target the region’s increasingly digital savvy media consumers.
The event, which took place at the Theatre of Digital Arts in Dubai, saw the launch of Akthar’s website and eight new social media channels in a 360 immersive digital experience.
The eight new shows will focus on a variety of youth-focused topics that include healthcare, food, travel, automotives, politics and much more.
“Al Arabiya’s own slogan, ‘KNOW MORE’, has given rise to our new social brand AKHTAR. We believe that news audiences want to explore more about their world with us. We help our audiences know more of what they need – so they can share it with their friends and be better informed about their world,” said Jamie Angus, Chief Operating Officer of Al Arabiya News Network in his opening speech.
Angus also highlighted that the launch of Akthar, is in line with the network’s journey to becoming a digital-first organization.
“It’s become a cliché to say that younger audiences go to social media for everything they need – of course it’s more complicated than that. But we know that to keep our market-leading position we have to show that we’re serious about making the best programs for social and to hire the best teams to do that,” added Angus.
Fahad Al Zoghibi, Chief Information Officer at Al Arabiya Network, emphasized that the birth of Akthar was ignited by Al Arabiya News Network’s social media success.
“Al Arabiya is one of the most online viewed news networks globally with 38 million video views and 5.2 million followers across all platforms (as of October 2022). This shows that there is an opportunity to launch a brand like Akthar, to target more interests and more age groups, across more platforms. At the end of the day, news is not only about politics, crime and local/international events. It is about automotive, travel, health, technology, simple finance and much more,” said Al Zoghibi.
Ahmed Al Sahhaf, CEO of MMS said the launch of Akthar means more opportunities for brands to reach their audiences.
‘We are delighted with the launch of Akthar, and congratulate Al Arabiya on the kickoff of their new digital brand. As the exclusive advertising representatives of Al Arabiya, we look forward to support brands in connecting with their audiences through Akthar’s diverse and rich content line-up, across digital and social media platforms.”
Other speakers who took the stage include Farah Al Ibrahim Digital Content Manager at Al Arabiya Network who spoke about Akthar’s content line-up, Moussa Abdo, Senior Digital and Data Solutions Manager at MMS, who detailed how brands can unlock partnership opportunities with Akthar and Ahlam Al Yaacoub, presenter of Akthar’s Ala Fain show.
The event was attended by representatives from MBC Group, Al Arabiya News Network and MMS, as well as International and local brands and agencies, SMEs, government, celebrities and much more.
