‘Streaming platforms are key facilitators for young Saudi talent’
Content is king, and distribution supports the dissemination of that content, says SRMG CEO Jomana Al-Rashed
Streaming platforms rely on user-generated content, and Saudi talent is taking full advantage of them, according to Jomana AlRashed, chief executive officer of Saudi Research and Media Group.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh on Wednesday, she said the greater the amount of content, the wider the audience that can be reached.
“Content is king, and distribution supports the dissemination of that content,” she said.
A number of talents and businesses in Saudi Arabia have had a chance to shine on streaming platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram.
They include Arabic podcast and documentaries platform Thmanyah. Its productions include “Fnjan,” a talk show with an average of more than 1.6 million monthly listeners, “Swalif Business,” “Socrates,” and “Things That Changed Us.”
In July, SRMG announced the acquisition of a 51 percent controlling stake in the platform.
Speaking at FII, Al-Rashed said: “Thmanyah was created eight years ago as a startup by a young Saudi talent leveraging audio content, and was acquired by the group at a very high valuation.”
It is one of the leading podcast platforms and documentary producers in the Middle East and North Africa region, Al-Rashed said, and its acquisition by SRMG was part of the group’s new digital-first, multi-platform approach and its commitment to delivering original, unique, and exclusive content to consumers through digital and social platforms.
She believes artificial intelligence and data is the future.
“We now know that any source of content in the future has to be empowered by data and has to be empowered by leveraging AI,” she told the forum.
“It is the natural progression of media consumption and media creation.”
SRMG owns more than 30 major media outlets, including Asharq
Al-Awsat, Asharq News, and Arab News. The company’s new strategy focuses on expanding its current portfolio, digital offerings and global reach, unlocking international commercial opportunities in fast-growing regional markets around the world.
It is leveraging its global network and reach to support Thmanyah’s ambitions to expand into new genres and geographical areas, while benefiting from the podcast platform’s creative and production capabilities to enhance brand equity across its titles.
Last month, SRMG also entered into a long-term partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to launch
Asharq Discovery, a new Arabic language channel exclusively for the MENA region.
Asharq Discovery aims to connect MENA audiences with the world while providing content that tells uniquely Arabic stories and presents unique experiences and memorable content that allows audiences to step outside their established media-consumption habits.
The partnership comes in the context of a MENA expansion strategy at Warner Bros. Discovery and SRMG’s growth strategy, which has brought them together through a shared goal of diversifying content and improving accessibility, to help MENA’s maturing entertainment industry to become one of the largest globally.
Also recently, and for the second year in a row, SRMG participated in the 2022 Riyadh International Book Fair as the Official Media Partner.
The renewed partnership between the two organizations aims to inspire and motivate readers to increase their passion for reading, in addition to fostering cultural exchanges.
During the book fair, held in Riyadh, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 8, SRMG provided extensive coverage of the fair and its events, as well as interactive programs and activities, through more than 30 participating SRMG media outlets and platforms.
We now know that any source of content in the future has to be empowered by data and by leveraging AI.