Al Arabiya's goal is to become a digital-first organisation by introducing Akthar.
Al Arabiya News Network, in partnership with MBC Media Solutions (MMS), the commercial arm of MBC Group, has announced the launch of the new digital content brand Akthar.
Al Arabiya is introducing Akthar to expand its digital content offering and target the region’s increasingly digital-savvy media consumers.
Eight social media channels in a 360 immersive digital experience will feature eight different shows covering a variety of topics such as lifestyle, travel, cryptocurrencies, automobiles, health, technology and politics.
During the launch event held at the Theater of Digital Arts in Dubai, Jamie Angus, Chief Operating Officer of Al Arabiya News Network, said: “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.”
He added that launching Akthar is part of the network’s plans to become a digital-first organisation.
“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 programmes for social and to hire the best teams to do that,” Angus stated.
Fahad Al Zoghibi, Chief Information Officer at Al Arabiya Network, commented: “Al Arabiya is one of the most online-viewed news networks globally with 38m video views and 5.2m 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.”
Ahmed Al Sahhaf, CEO of MMS, noted: “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.”
