Dubai Media Incorporated
Encyclopedia
Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) is the official media organization of the government of Dubai
. It was established in 2003 as a government-owned company comprising a number of print, radio and TV channels under its umbrella including: Dubai TV
, Al Bayan
, Sama Dubai, Dubai One, Dubai Sports
, Dubai Racing, Noor Dubai Radio & TV, Dubai FM, Emarat Al Youm, Emirates 24/7
, Tawseel and Masar Printing Press. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of DMI, His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
, Dubai Business Channel, Al Bayan Newspaper, Dubai 92 and Dubai FM.
After the establishment of Arab Media Group
(AMG) in 2005, which is a part of TECOM Investments, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding
, all of the radio stations and newspapers were transferred under AMG, leaving DMI with only four TV channels (Dubai TV, Sama Dubai, Dubai One and Dubai Sports) and began, essentially, privatizing the media outlets of Dubai.
, after considerable layoffs of the workforce, Arab Media Group
's newly established Noor Dubai TV (and Radio), along with the print media and publishing outlets were merged with Dubai Media Incorporated in late 2009. This expanded DMI's ownership into radio, print and online media which made it one of the largest media companies in the Middle East. The company also benefited from the newly transferred employees from AMG with their expertise in radio and for-profit media.
region and is also available in Australia, Europe, North America and the rest of Asia. A majority of its programming is produced locally, either through DMI's own in-house productions or by commissioning various production houses throughout the Arab world, whereby DMI acts as the "executive producer". The channel has cosmopolitan shows along with conservative religious programming as well as international formats to cater to the various types of people in the Arab world.
dancing (which was not widely known at the time) and created competition similar to the format American Idol
whereby viewers can vote on the best dancers.
(also called "Channel 33") was originally a terrestrial Analog television
channel which catered, mostly, to the expatriate
community living in Dubai. Through a number of Western cartoons, series, soap operas and films, as well as weekly Hindi cinema along with a nightly local news broadcast. Since the expansion of pay TV
networks like Showtime Arabia
along with Free-to-air
channels like MBC 2
which provided newer Western content, the popularity of Channel 33 declined heavily.
In 2004, DMI launched One TV (which later became Dubai One) as a 24-hour free-to-air Digital satellite channel targeting a pan-Arab audience interested in Western content, this was done by subtitling content in Arabic and creating mostly Arabic and English (with an Arabic accent) on-air promotions. The channel did not include any of the previous content like soap operas, Bollywood cinema or local news. The channel was intended to compete with MBC Group's MBC 2
, which was a considerably successful strategy, until MBC launched a number of other Western-content channels, with newer films and TV series than Dubai One.
Since the channel was launched, many of the labouring class expatriates living in Dubai were disappointed with removal of some of their most popular shows including The Bold and the Beautiful
and the local news broadcast in English (which was, at the time, the only one of its kind in the UAE). The complaints were done through directly contacting DMI along with letters featured in local newspapers like Gulf News
.
Due to these shifts in market share, audience requests, as well as the Dubai government's strategy to make the channel promote the events and developments of the city, a daily news program called Emirates News was launched in 2007. The program was similar to the old format local news of Channel 33, but it was based in DMI's State of the art
News Center in Dubai Media City
which was also used for Dubai TV
's and Sama Dubai
's news broadcasts (as well as Dubai Sports
' news as of the 2010 relaunch), the program managed to successfully produce local news by sharing resources and news content with the other channels.
Dubai One soon began launching more locally produced programs like Out & About, Studio One (TV Series)
, World of Sports (TV series)
and Emirates 24/7
which was co-branded with the online news website. The channel also brought back The Bold and the Beautiful
and began featuring more Hindi cinema along with its Westen content, which became more targeted to offer films and TV shows that were not available on competing free-to-air channels.
that year, solidifying its Islamic views. The channel was originally an experimental radio and television hybrid, with a limited budget, significantly lower production values than competing Dubai-owned channels and with dual-broadcasts of radio programs on television along with new television-only shows. While the radio station was only available in Dubai, the TV channel was a pan-Arab satellite broadcast, so its popularity grew far beyond the intended audience with a significant following of conservative Muslims living around the Middle East due to the heavy Islamic content, which was based on the radio station format.
After the 2009 AMG-DMI merger, the new channel, along with the radio station, joined DMI and the offices and studios were moved from Dubai Studio City
to DMI's headquarters next to Al Maktoum Bridge
. DMI relaunched the TV channel in an attempt to separate it from the radio channel and to suppress the ultra-conservative brand. The new target audience was similar to Sama Dubai's Emirati and Gulf target, but instead was an older audience. This was done through programming about cultural and traditional topics as well as a re-broadcasting of decades-old series and programs from the DMI library. DMI also gave Noor Dubai its own broadcast of Emirates news, from DMI's News Center using the same news content that's broadcast on Sama Dubai and Dubai TV's Emirates news.
. It was later expanded to included international sports by acquiring Middle East broadcast rights for events like the Olympic Games
and Wimbledon Championships.
The popularity of the channel grew as it increased coverage of the UAE Football League, with live broadcast of matches and complimentary shows like Dawrina and the popular Al Jamahir, which interviewed fans of teams during and after matches with all of their emotional outbursts when their teams lost.
Due to the development of the UAE Football League and the increasing number of events taking place simultaneously, Dubai Sports expanded to include Dubai Sports 2 & 3, which act as a simulcast
except during multiple live events. The expansion of the channels has also been an attempt to compete with other pan-Arab sports channels like Abu Dhabi Sports Channel
(for local events), Al Jazeera Sports
and ShowSports
(for international events). But due to budget limitations, the channel has not been able to fully compete and has since lost some of its popularity.
and camel racing
TV channel in the Middle East. Specifically dedicated to coverage of horse racing events in the UAE like the Dubai World Cup
, various camel races and accompanying programs. The channel originally took all of its content from Dubai Sports and larger sporting events are simulcast
on Dubai Sports.
in 2005, replacing Dubai FM which had the same frequency. The channel's slogan was "A community channel with an Islamic perspective", it was intended to be a conservative radio station which did not air any music, whilst still serving the community through talk shows about various topics facing the community along with religious programming and Anasheed
(instead of music). The most popular program was a morning call-in show called Al Bath Al Mubashar ("The Live Broadcast") which allowed anyone in the community to call in with their thoughts, opinions or complaints on almost any topic, but it was predominantly government-related service issues, the host would then call up the responsible agency to find solutions to the issues.
, DMI launched Dubai FM on the frequency 93. The channel expanded DMI's radio stations, utilizing the infrastructure and expertise of the Noor Dubai station. Dubai FM is a youth-oriented channel with talk shows and music aimed at the more liberal Emirati youth market.
where it was rebranded, giving it a new look and making the whole newspaper in full color. This was an attempt to target a younger audience, but was ultimately unsuccessful as there was not a significant change in the content.
Since the 2009 AMG-DMI merger, the newspaper is a part of Dubai Media Incorporated.
. The newspaper was part of an experimental structure in which its sister newspaper, the English-language Emirates Today, had the same team of reporters, in essence the same news paper but in two languages. While the popularity of Emarat Al Youm grew amongst the younger readers, Emirates Today proved unpopular amongst the expatriate
population compared to the already established English-language newspapers and was ultimately shut down. The popularity of Emarat Al Youm is attributed to its concentration on community issues and news, rather than politics and governmental issues.
In 2009, the newspaper was suspended from publication for 20 days from the 6th of July on the instructions of an Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal ruling, upheld by the Supreme Federal Court of the UAE. The newspaper had been sued by the owners of the Warsan
Stables (the Abu Dhabi Royal Family) for publishing a story in 2006 claiming their horses had been drugged with steroids.
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
. It was established in 2003 as a government-owned company comprising a number of print, radio and TV channels under its umbrella including: Dubai TV
Dubai TV
Dubai TV is a channel offered by the Dubai Media Incorporated . It replaced Emirates Dubai Television in June 2004. Dubai TV broadcasts programmes predominantly in Arabic. The programming caters to family Arab audience specifically in the Persian Gulf region and is available in Australia, Europe,...
, Al Bayan
Al Bayan
Al Bayan is a popular Arabic language newspaper in the United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1980 by the government of Dubai. Until 2003 it was part of Dubai Media Department...
, Sama Dubai, Dubai One, Dubai Sports
Dubai Sports
Dubai Sports is a 24/7 sports channel based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The channel started in 1998 to be the home for sports news around the country and was awarded the privilege of showing different sports events locally and worldwide...
, Dubai Racing, Noor Dubai Radio & TV, Dubai FM, Emarat Al Youm, Emirates 24/7
Emirates 24/7
Emirates 24|7 and Emirates 24/7 are a Dubai Media Incorporated news website and television news programme, respectively. The televised news programme, Emirates 24/7, is a 30 minute segment broadcast weekly on Dubai Media Inc.'s television channel Dubai One, presenting news and business stories of...
, Tawseel and Masar Printing Press. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of DMI, His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also the Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
History
Before DMI was established, the government-owned media outlets were a part of the Dubai Department of Media. These included a number of TV channels which were launched and closed over many years prior to the establishment of DMI. These included Dubai TV, Dubai 33Dubai 33
Dubai Channel 33 was a national television channel transmitting terrestrially out of Dubai in English, targeting the expat community in the U.A.E.. It was founded in 1977. Up until the late 80s, it was a 12-hour channel, switching broadcasts adjacently from one of Emirates Dubai Television's...
, Dubai Business Channel, Al Bayan Newspaper, Dubai 92 and Dubai FM.
After the establishment of Arab Media Group
Arab Media Group
Arab Media Group is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based media company, part of TECOM, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding...
(AMG) in 2005, which is a part of TECOM Investments, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding
Dubai Holding
Dubai Holding is a holding company that belongs to the Government of Dubai . It manages and controls 20 companies, which operate in real estate, hospitality, finance, healthcare, energy, research, education, entertainment, media, internet, tourism and biotechnology...
, all of the radio stations and newspapers were transferred under AMG, leaving DMI with only four TV channels (Dubai TV, Sama Dubai, Dubai One and Dubai Sports) and began, essentially, privatizing the media outlets of Dubai.
2003 Channel Structure
Soon after DMI was established, and with a renewed concentration on television, the organization began relaunching the TV channels as part of a new strategy to target wider audiences, to compete on a pan-Arab level like MBC Group and to compliment the ongoing developments of Dubai as a global tourism and investment hub. This included relaunching Dubai TV as a general entertainment and news channel targeting the Arab world, the launch of Sama Dubai as local news and entertainment channel targeting Emirati and Gulf nationals. DMI also replaced the dated Channel 33 and relaunched it as Dubai One, with subtitled Western content targeting Arabs and expatriates living in Dubai and around the Arab world.2009 AMG-DMI Merger
As a direct impact of the Late-2000s financial crisisLate-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
, after considerable layoffs of the workforce, Arab Media Group
Arab Media Group
Arab Media Group is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based media company, part of TECOM, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding...
's newly established Noor Dubai TV (and Radio), along with the print media and publishing outlets were merged with Dubai Media Incorporated in late 2009. This expanded DMI's ownership into radio, print and online media which made it one of the largest media companies in the Middle East. The company also benefited from the newly transferred employees from AMG with their expertise in radio and for-profit media.
2010 Expansion
With the platform of Noor Dubai radio, DMI launched Dubai FM in September 2011 to target Emirati youth with a variety of news programs and talk shows. There are also plans to launch a magazine called ARA Dubai.TV Channels
DMI has a number of TV channels, some of which extend into multiple broadcasts (Like Dubai Sports 1, 2 & HD). While most of the production is centralized at DMI's own studios, each channel has its own management, team, structure and strategy.Dubai TV
Dubai TV replaced Emirates Dubai Television in June 2004. Dubai TV broadcasts programmes predominantly in Arabic, with some additional subtitled Western movies and documentary series. The programming caters to family Arab audiences around the MENAMENA
The term MENA, for "Middle East and North Africa", is an acronym often used in academic, military planning and business writing.The term covers an extensive region, extending from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both the Middle Eastern and Maghreb countries...
region and is also available in Australia, Europe, North America and the rest of Asia. A majority of its programming is produced locally, either through DMI's own in-house productions or by commissioning various production houses throughout the Arab world, whereby DMI acts as the "executive producer". The channel has cosmopolitan shows along with conservative religious programming as well as international formats to cater to the various types of people in the Arab world.
Sama Dubai
Sama Dubai was launched as a new channel in 2005 to cater to the Emirati and Gulf audience, with a deep concentration on traditions and culture, specifically targeting the youth of the region. The popularity of the channel is attributed to its view on Gulf culture, while maintaining authenticity in the old traditions, there is always a foreword thinking view through the empowerment of women and the modernization of old culture, specifically with the highly successful reality series Al Meydan, which took the traditional YowlaYowla
Yowla is a type of type of traditional dance found in the United Arab Emirates. It involves spinning and throwing a rifle.-See also:* Ardha* Fijiri* Sawt * M'alayah* Liwa * Mizmar -External links:* *...
dancing (which was not widely known at the time) and created competition similar to the format American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
whereby viewers can vote on the best dancers.
Dubai One
Dubai 33Dubai 33
Dubai Channel 33 was a national television channel transmitting terrestrially out of Dubai in English, targeting the expat community in the U.A.E.. It was founded in 1977. Up until the late 80s, it was a 12-hour channel, switching broadcasts adjacently from one of Emirates Dubai Television's...
(also called "Channel 33") was originally a terrestrial Analog television
Analog television
Analog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
channel which catered, mostly, to the expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
community living in Dubai. Through a number of Western cartoons, series, soap operas and films, as well as weekly Hindi cinema along with a nightly local news broadcast. Since the expansion of pay TV
Pay TV
Pay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
networks like Showtime Arabia
Showtime Arabia
Showtime Arabia, as it was called to distinguish itself from its U.S. counterpart , was a subscription television service in the Middle East and North Africa. It was a joint venture between KIPCO and CBS Corporation , CBS Corp being a minor partner...
along with Free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
channels like MBC 2
MBC 2
MBC 2, formerly Channel 2, is a free-to-air 24-hour movie channel owned by the MBC Group. The channel has broadcast as a satellite TV channel since 2002...
which provided newer Western content, the popularity of Channel 33 declined heavily.
In 2004, DMI launched One TV (which later became Dubai One) as a 24-hour free-to-air Digital satellite channel targeting a pan-Arab audience interested in Western content, this was done by subtitling content in Arabic and creating mostly Arabic and English (with an Arabic accent) on-air promotions. The channel did not include any of the previous content like soap operas, Bollywood cinema or local news. The channel was intended to compete with MBC Group's MBC 2
MBC 2
MBC 2, formerly Channel 2, is a free-to-air 24-hour movie channel owned by the MBC Group. The channel has broadcast as a satellite TV channel since 2002...
, which was a considerably successful strategy, until MBC launched a number of other Western-content channels, with newer films and TV series than Dubai One.
Since the channel was launched, many of the labouring class expatriates living in Dubai were disappointed with removal of some of their most popular shows including The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
and the local news broadcast in English (which was, at the time, the only one of its kind in the UAE). The complaints were done through directly contacting DMI along with letters featured in local newspapers like Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
.
Due to these shifts in market share, audience requests, as well as the Dubai government's strategy to make the channel promote the events and developments of the city, a daily news program called Emirates News was launched in 2007. The program was similar to the old format local news of Channel 33, but it was based in DMI's State of the art
State of the art
The state of the art is the highest level of development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time. It also refers to the level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the latest methodologies employed.- Origin :The earliest use of the term...
News Center in Dubai Media City
Dubai Media City
Dubai Media City , part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has been built by the Dubai government to boost UAE's media foothold, and has become a regional hub for media organizations including news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production,...
which was also used for Dubai TV
Dubai TV
Dubai TV is a channel offered by the Dubai Media Incorporated . It replaced Emirates Dubai Television in June 2004. Dubai TV broadcasts programmes predominantly in Arabic. The programming caters to family Arab audience specifically in the Persian Gulf region and is available in Australia, Europe,...
's and Sama Dubai
Sama Dubai
Sama Dubai is a member company and subsidiary of Dubai Holding, a holding company set up by the government of Dubai. Sama Dubai was created as a company with wider responsibility and mandate than its previous predecessor . Sama Dubai is practically the international property arm of Dubai Holding...
's news broadcasts (as well as Dubai Sports
Dubai Sports
Dubai Sports is a 24/7 sports channel based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The channel started in 1998 to be the home for sports news around the country and was awarded the privilege of showing different sports events locally and worldwide...
' news as of the 2010 relaunch), the program managed to successfully produce local news by sharing resources and news content with the other channels.
Dubai One soon began launching more locally produced programs like Out & About, Studio One (TV Series)
Studio One (TV Series)
Studio One is a live daily lifestyle show broadcast on Dubai One in the Middle East and Africa. Created by the same team that produced Dubai One's popular weekly show Ask One, Studio One is known for its eclectic mix of lifestyle features and celebrity interviews and is primarily aimed at women and...
, World of Sports (TV series)
World of Sports (TV series)
Launched in April 2010, World of Sports was a weekly sports show featuring a mixture of local and international sports highlights, studio and telephone interviews with sporting personalities and a variety of sports related features. Series One was hosted by Layne Redman with Tom Urquhart, Mark...
and Emirates 24/7
Emirates 24/7
Emirates 24|7 and Emirates 24/7 are a Dubai Media Incorporated news website and television news programme, respectively. The televised news programme, Emirates 24/7, is a 30 minute segment broadcast weekly on Dubai Media Inc.'s television channel Dubai One, presenting news and business stories of...
which was co-branded with the online news website. The channel also brought back The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful
The Bold and the Beautiful is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS Daytime. It premiered on March 23, 1987....
and began featuring more Hindi cinema along with its Westen content, which became more targeted to offer films and TV shows that were not available on competing free-to-air channels.
Noor Dubai
In 2008, AMG launched Noor Dubai TV on the first day of RamadanRamadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
that year, solidifying its Islamic views. The channel was originally an experimental radio and television hybrid, with a limited budget, significantly lower production values than competing Dubai-owned channels and with dual-broadcasts of radio programs on television along with new television-only shows. While the radio station was only available in Dubai, the TV channel was a pan-Arab satellite broadcast, so its popularity grew far beyond the intended audience with a significant following of conservative Muslims living around the Middle East due to the heavy Islamic content, which was based on the radio station format.
After the 2009 AMG-DMI merger, the new channel, along with the radio station, joined DMI and the offices and studios were moved from Dubai Studio City
Dubai Studio City
Dubai Studio City is part of Dubai Media City in Dubai, UAE. Following in the footsteps of Dubai Media City, it will cater to the production needs of the region and has plans to build movie studios like Hollywood sound stages backlots for various production needs...
to DMI's headquarters next to Al Maktoum Bridge
Al Maktoum Bridge
Al Maktoum Bridge is a bridge that crosses Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is one of five crossings on the creek. The others are Al Shindagha Tunnel, Floating Bridge, Al Garhoud Bridge and Business Bay Crossing.Al Maktoum Bridge was the first bridge in Dubai. It opened in 1963...
. DMI relaunched the TV channel in an attempt to separate it from the radio channel and to suppress the ultra-conservative brand. The new target audience was similar to Sama Dubai's Emirati and Gulf target, but instead was an older audience. This was done through programming about cultural and traditional topics as well as a re-broadcasting of decades-old series and programs from the DMI library. DMI also gave Noor Dubai its own broadcast of Emirates news, from DMI's News Center using the same news content that's broadcast on Sama Dubai and Dubai TV's Emirates news.
Dubai Sports
Dubai Sports Channel was launched in 1998 to cover local sports events in the UAE and to have exclusive Middle East broadcast rights for some of Dubai's sports events like the Dubai World CupDubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
. It was later expanded to included international sports by acquiring Middle East broadcast rights for events like the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
and Wimbledon Championships.
The popularity of the channel grew as it increased coverage of the UAE Football League, with live broadcast of matches and complimentary shows like Dawrina and the popular Al Jamahir, which interviewed fans of teams during and after matches with all of their emotional outbursts when their teams lost.
Due to the development of the UAE Football League and the increasing number of events taking place simultaneously, Dubai Sports expanded to include Dubai Sports 2 & 3, which act as a simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
except during multiple live events. The expansion of the channels has also been an attempt to compete with other pan-Arab sports channels like Abu Dhabi Sports Channel
Abu Dhabi Sports Channel
Abu Dhabi Al Riadhia is an Arabic television station It broadcasts from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and is owned by Abu Dhabi Media Company...
(for local events), Al Jazeera Sports
Al Jazeera Sports
Al Jazeera Sports is a popular Arabic-language sports channel launched in November 2003 by the well-known Al Jazeera network.Al Jazeera Sports also owns the exclusive broadcasting rights in the Middle East for major football leagues, such as the Spanish La Liga, the French Ligue 1 and the Italian...
and ShowSports
ShowSports
ShowSports is part of the Orbit Showtime Network. ShowSport 1 HD, 2, 3, 4 and Extreme Sports Channel are available on many Orbit Showtime Network packages. They began showing from the first of April 2007.-ShowSports 1 HD:...
(for international events). But due to budget limitations, the channel has not been able to fully compete and has since lost some of its popularity.
Dubai Racing
In essence, an extension of Dubai Sports, but with its own brand and identity, Dubai Racing is the only horse racingHorse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
and camel racing
Camel racing
Camel racing is a popular sport in India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Australia, and Mongolia. Professional camel racing, like horse racing, is an event for betting and tourist attraction...
TV channel in the Middle East. Specifically dedicated to coverage of horse racing events in the UAE like the Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, various camel races and accompanying programs. The channel originally took all of its content from Dubai Sports and larger sporting events are simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
on Dubai Sports.
Noor Dubai
Noor Dubai (FM 93.9) was originally launched by Arab Media GroupArab Media Group
Arab Media Group is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based media company, part of TECOM, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding...
in 2005, replacing Dubai FM which had the same frequency. The channel's slogan was "A community channel with an Islamic perspective", it was intended to be a conservative radio station which did not air any music, whilst still serving the community through talk shows about various topics facing the community along with religious programming and Anasheed
Anasheed
Anasheed , is Islamic vocal music that is either sung a cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments such as the daff...
(instead of music). The most popular program was a morning call-in show called Al Bath Al Mubashar ("The Live Broadcast") which allowed anyone in the community to call in with their thoughts, opinions or complaints on almost any topic, but it was predominantly government-related service issues, the host would then call up the responsible agency to find solutions to the issues.
Dubai FM
On August 30th 2011, the same day as Eid ul-FitrEid ul-Fitr
Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
, DMI launched Dubai FM on the frequency 93. The channel expanded DMI's radio stations, utilizing the infrastructure and expertise of the Noor Dubai station. Dubai FM is a youth-oriented channel with talk shows and music aimed at the more liberal Emirati youth market.
Al Bayan
Al Bayan was established in 1980 by the government of Dubai as a part of the Dubai Media Department. It reported on local news, Arab news and some international news, it was known for its critical coverage and political views of events in Arab world, but in essence it was considered the official news paper of government of Dubai and so was very popular among local readers working in the government sector. It later moved to Arab Media GroupArab Media Group
Arab Media Group is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based media company, part of TECOM, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding...
where it was rebranded, giving it a new look and making the whole newspaper in full color. This was an attempt to target a younger audience, but was ultimately unsuccessful as there was not a significant change in the content.
Since the 2009 AMG-DMI merger, the newspaper is a part of Dubai Media Incorporated.
Emarat Al Youm
Emarat Al Youm (Emirates Today) was launched in 2005 by Arab Media GroupArab Media Group
Arab Media Group is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based media company, part of TECOM, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding...
. The newspaper was part of an experimental structure in which its sister newspaper, the English-language Emirates Today, had the same team of reporters, in essence the same news paper but in two languages. While the popularity of Emarat Al Youm grew amongst the younger readers, Emirates Today proved unpopular amongst the expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
population compared to the already established English-language newspapers and was ultimately shut down. The popularity of Emarat Al Youm is attributed to its concentration on community issues and news, rather than politics and governmental issues.
In 2009, the newspaper was suspended from publication for 20 days from the 6th of July on the instructions of an Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal ruling, upheld by the Supreme Federal Court of the UAE. The newspaper had been sued by the owners of the Warsan
Warsan
Warsan is a locality in Dubai, United Arab Emirates . Warsan is an industrial neighbourhood of Dubai, bordering Al Warqaa to the north and Nad Al Sheba to the west. Warsan is subdivided into two localities — Warsan 1 and Warsan 2. The community is sparsely populated and is predominantly...
Stables (the Abu Dhabi Royal Family) for publishing a story in 2006 claiming their horses had been drugged with steroids.
See also
- Dubai One
- Dubai SportsDubai SportsDubai Sports is a 24/7 sports channel based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The channel started in 1998 to be the home for sports news around the country and was awarded the privilege of showing different sports events locally and worldwide...
- Dubai TVDubai TVDubai TV is a channel offered by the Dubai Media Incorporated . It replaced Emirates Dubai Television in June 2004. Dubai TV broadcasts programmes predominantly in Arabic. The programming caters to family Arab audience specifically in the Persian Gulf region and is available in Australia, Europe,...
- Arab Media GroupArab Media GroupArab Media Group is a Dubai, United Arab Emirates, based media company, part of TECOM, the technology and media holdings management arm of Dubai Holding...
- Dubai Media CityDubai Media CityDubai Media City , part of Dubai Holding, is a tax-free zone within Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It has been built by the Dubai government to boost UAE's media foothold, and has become a regional hub for media organizations including news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production,...