Media

The state of Qatar has become a hub for regional broadcasters, and the country enjoys high levels of media consumption with, for example, some 81% of Qatari residents reading newspapers, compared to a figure of 65% regionally. Elsewhere, Qatar’s internet penetration rate was 85.3% at the end of 2013, according to the International Telecommunications Union, one of the highest levels in the GCC, with 72% of the state’s internet users saying that “passing time online” is important, compared to 71% regionally. Meanwhile, total advertising spend in Qatar in the first three quarters of 2014 was $461m, down 1% from $466m in the same period of 2013. Newspapers were the dominant medium on the advertising market, accounting for $353m, or 77% of overall spend.