Cover Story while Kuwait and Bahrain were historically the main production centres for GCC drama series . With the proliferation of digital satellite channels in the late 1990 ’ s , demand for non-scripted programming such as entertainment and game shows has also grown tremendously with Egypt and Lebanon again as the main regional production hubs including for GCC countries ’ government-owned and private broadcasters .
Cover Story while Kuwait and Bahrain were historically the main production centres for GCC drama series . With the proliferation of digital satellite channels in the late 1990 ’ s , demand for non-scripted programming such as entertainment and game shows has also grown tremendously with Egypt and Lebanon again as the main regional production hubs including for GCC countries ’ government-owned and private broadcasters .
While Saudi Arabia might be seeking a greater say in production the other centres of excellence are not giving up their roles . “ Egypt has a celebrated history in film and television , and Cairo remains a main centre for Arabic-language media production ,” says Hasan . “ Egyptian drama and movies continue to influence the region , while fluctuations in the Egyptian economy affect funding for local projects . Similarly , Lebanon ’ s political instability and economic crisis have severely impacted funding of the media industry with local talent facing an unpredictable environment , and very limited investment in production infrastructure . Despite that , Lebanon remaining a production hub for entertainment TV and feature films . At the same time , Lebanon has benefited from the instability in Syria becoming a production centre for a large number of Syrian drama series , a very popular and widely watched genre across the Arab world .” LOCATION . Jordan has also gained prominence as a location for international film shoots . Its diverse landscapes and skilled crews attract filmmakers from around the world . The Royal Film Commission of Jordan has inaugurated Olivewood Film Studios , Jordan ’ s first specialised studio complex for filmmaking with two sound stages and a 68,000 square metre backlot , in September 2023 . They have also started to actively promote the country as a production destination beyond “ just a desert ”, which I believe is a countermeasure against the recent and upcoming competition from the UAE and KSA as ‘ desert ’ filming destinations , in addition to Jordan and Morocco .
A new category of drama production has emerged lately , which is cross-country productions where the cast are from multiple
Arab countries and the storyline crosses borders . “ We have recently seen Lebanese / Syrian , Lebanese / Egyptian , Kuwaiti / Egyptian , and other cross-country productions . This trend is benefiting from the creative , infrastructure , and incentive schemes for different countries , and the ability of these multicultural productions to gain wider viewership around the Arab world ,” says Hasan .
He suggests that there has been a seismic change over the past few years , and the core Gulf broadcasters have immensely reduced their reliance on Egypt and the Levant as their production centres .
“ The UAE , especially Dubai and Abu Dhabi , have emerged over the last two decades as major hubs for media production and broadcasting in the Arab world ,” notes Hasan . “ Both cities boast state-of-the-art facilities , production incentives and support schemes , and a thriving creative ecosystem . But while the incentives exist , with a rebate of up to 30 per cent on qualifying production expenditure provided by Abu Dhabi Film Commission , production costs are still higher than other parts of the Arab World due to the ever-increasing overhead costs of running businesses , and rising creative , production , and technical talent expenses due to high living costs and limited job stability and continuity .”
“ ABS is uniquely positioned to demonstrate how the sector can return to growth ” - Mark Rigolle , ABS
“ Abu Dhabi , through the twofour54 media and entertainment hub and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission , has positioned itself as a premier regional and international content production destination , and has successfully hosted over the last 10 years a number of Hollywood and Bollywood films , and some Arabic drama series , which were completely or partially produced in the Emirate . Twofour54 revealed in 2023 their plan to build twofour54 Studios as a new fully-fledged film production destination with 11 Sound Stages and large backlots and thematic sets . I can see though that Abu Dhabi is facing a saturated market , and the volume of production there is not growing over time as anticipated . I believe that most of the productions came to Abu Dhabi to “ opportunistically ” benefit from the 30 % rebate scheme , but unfortunately are not making a commercially sustained , home-grown media production ecosystem .”
Hasan also has Saudi Arabia in his portfolio of clients and says the Kingdom is going through a transformative shift on all levels . “ While its media production industry is relatively new , it is growing extremely fast . To keep up with the planned growth and government-set target production levels , the country needs robust talent development programmes to nurture homegrown directors , writers , production staff , and crew .” INITIATIVES . “ We have seen multiple initiatives in Saudi Arabia to grow the media production industry : There is the 40 per cent cash rebate scheme on production spend offered by the Saudi Film Commission and is available for both Saudi and international production companies . On top of that , NEOM , the futuristic area to the Northwest of the Kingdom , offers generous additional incentives for media productions within that area . NEOM has already built and is operating multiple Film Sound Stages within NEOM Media Village and Bajdah Studios and has attracted multiple international and local high-end productions . AlUla , another region of Saudi Arabia , has recently built two Sound Stages and is offering further incentives to shoot within their territory .
This may be creating some internal competition with the rest of the country but , more importantly , with surrounding countries such as the UAE and Jordan , to attract international and regional productions . The Kingdom is working actively to ‘ bring home ’ Saudi-owned media organisations who have been historically operating outside the
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