Media

Dubai has emerged as a regional centre for the media industry over the past decade. Indeed, the resilience of the media through the recent economic crisis points to strong fundamentals that will continue to support the sector as it moves forward. Overall, revenues for the first nine months of 2012 in the region amounted to some $12.7bn, a 22% increase over the same period in 2011. While in many parts of the world the print sector has been struggling, for example, newspapers and magazines account for almost 40% of total advertising expenditure in Dubai. Looking ahead, perhaps the biggest area of growth potential is the digital media sector, which has grown from just $15m in 2009 to almost $79m in 2012, and is expected to double again by 2015. Ongoing support from the government and an increasingly transparent industry are likely to help with continuing to attract foreign participation in the sector.