Riyadh-Agencies
A specialized financial center recently unveiled a study containing the latest figures on the media industry in the GCC countries and the rest of the world, indicating that Saudi Arabia controls 30% of GCC advertising spending, and the study also included variables in the media industry in the region.
The study emphasized that the media industry around the world has been facing many challenges since the global financial crisis began in 2008, the most prominent of which is the decline in income, but media in the GCC has not been affected to the same extent as media in Western economies, and companies in the region are currently increasing their budgets for advertising spending amid signs of recovery in many economies around the world. In 2012, ad spending in the GCC reached $4.8 billion, up 5% from 2011, with the UAE accounting for the highest share of ad spending in the region at 33%, followed by Saudi Arabia at 30% and Kuwait at 20%.

The study also addresses the rapid changes in the media industry market due to technological advances and changes in consumer behavior. Digital media is growing in influence and effectiveness, currently accounting for 18% of global advertising spend, which is expected to grow by 20% by 2014. However, print media still accounts for 71% of total advertising spend in the GCC, and for TV, free-to-air channels still hold the largest market share in the MENA region. TV advertising income in the GCC amounted to USD 693 million, accounting for 14% of total advertising income in the region in 2012.