Saudi's New Investment Strategy in Media & Entertainment

Saudi Arabia’s investment activities point to a determined strategy to make use of the Media & Entertainment industry’s massive soft power.

In what appears to be a well-designed strategy, the Kingdom’s massive sovereign wealth is backing ambitions to consolidate a regional media market with over 400 million Arabic language speakers and bridge the Arab world to the next generation of global audiences.

So far this year, Saudia Arabia has quietly invested at least US$15.3 billion into carefully selected Media & Entertainment assets. These investments increase participation in a global industry worth over US$2.4 trillion in annual...

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2 Comments

So the Saudi’s have a plan to win the hearts and minds of … who?

Teak says:
January 11, 2023 at 9:24 pm
I would think they are targeting both Saudi subjects inside the country and the rest of the world, albeit in different ways. If (and it’s a big IF) they can start a proper, quality production market inside Saudi, then it would mean lot’s of jobs and a booming push toward modernisation. They can throw money at that all year long and get nothing if international film-makers won’t go Saudi to shoot.
But, if they can influence international film-makers to both tell Saudi neutral or Saudi positive stories and push the vast Arab story-telling traditions into international markets, then attitudes toward Saudi at the public-level may improve. Politics will then follow.
Smart, if its actual strategy.
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