Media firms plan to become mobile operators

Two of the Middle East’s largest media companies are considering becoming mobile phone operators in a bid to capture a larger portion of the region’s lucrative telecommunications market.

The MBC Group and Abu Dhabi Media Company, publisher of The National, are in talks to create branded mobile services which would include exclusive content such as entertainment, news and sports designed to match subscribers’ lifestyles.

Dr Ammar Bakkar, the group director of new media at MBC Group, said: “MBC is a pan-Arab brand, which means that it is a brand that is strong in any Arab country. So we are not looking to do something in one or two countries, we are looking at something in all Arab countries.”