ME Newswire
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Tuesday, March 26th 2013
Over the course of 2012, TECOM’s Media Cluster, which comprises some of the UAE’s most well-known free zone business parks - Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, and International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), has enabled business partners to expand by over 230 thousand sq. ft. as well as welcoming 257 new business partners into its portfolio.
Notable expansions within the three business parks include global business information company, Thomson Reuters, which increased its footprint within Dubai Media City over the course of 2012. Broadcaster and broadcast service provider, View Mobile moved from Dubai Media City to Dubai Studio City, as a result of staggering growth. In IMPZ, Costra Group, a commercial retail design company, grew its operational space over the same period.
Commenting on these expansions, Mohammad Abdullah, Managing Director, TECOM Media Cluster, said:
“At a time when a number of western markets are still in recovery mode, we are delighted that a significant number of businesses operating within our three market leading industry specific business parks are expanding. This expansion is testament to the growing confidence in Dubai as a strategic business hub as well as supporting its credentials as a staging post for accessing the Gulf region.”
At an operational level, Dubai Studio City completed construction on the first of its three soundstages that are designed based on international standards and world class qualities. The 15,000 sq. ft. facility is a first of its kind in the region. Demonstrating the success of this development, DSC signed a strategic partnership with MBC Group which will strengthen the cooperation between the two, especially in the media content development and growth of cultural and creative industries in the region. In light of that, MBC Group has also recently established a groundbreaking partnership with Stargate Studios, the global award-winning production company specializing in virtual production and visual effects. The partnership entails the opening of Stargate Middle East.
This strategic partnership will attract and develop local competencies and expertise from various specialties of the production process, which will enable Dubai to become the perfect destination that meets the needs the TV and film production industry in the Middle East.
The major impact of this will be a strong business case for production support service companies to relocate to Dubai Studio City, as the increase in content creation taking place will provide a valuable source of demand for production services.
In addition, the news sector has shown strong growth potential for TECOM’s Media focused business parks with three international news outlets entering the Cluster during 2012. These outlets include; Asahi Shimbun Japan’s second largest newspaper with a circulation of over 10 million; Anba Moscow (Ria Nostovi) a Russian state owned multi-lingual news agency; Euronews a pan European multi lingual news TV channel.
Content creation and production is a core segment for the Gulf’s media industry, which has been buoyed by three new additions - Deluxe an industry leader in digital content media; Prime Focus one of the largest film, advertising, television post-production and visual effects companies in the world, now adds Dubai to its list of locations which already include offices in Europe, India and North America; and Serena one of the largest production companies in Spain, which should serve as a magnet for other European production houses.
Commenting further on these new additions, Mohammad Abdullah added:
“We have licensed some 257 new companies across Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City, and IMPZ over the course of 2012. Of these, most of them are streamed from the film and TV, new media, event management, as well as the services sectors. Reinforcing Dubai’s global status and positive outlook; 233 licenses were from new entrants into the Emirate.”
“For the coming year we would expect, in line with a number of industry forecasts, there to be significant growth in mobile internet advertising across the region in line with an overall rebound across advertising in general. We also expect an increase in transparency in the television advertising sector as new tools for audience measurement become more prevalent across the region. This should lead to greater investment as the industry has more clarity on how to monetize content.”
Contacts
Alexa Hooft Graafland
ahooftgraafland@bell-pottinger.co.uk
+971555597404
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