Dubai's media industry continues to grow

Not only is Dubai a global hub for business and property development, it also has a burgeoning media industry, it seems.Speaking to Al Arabiya, Mohammad Abdullah - the managing director of the Tecom Media Cluster - highlighted just how well the city is performing in this area.The Tecom Media Cluster consists of Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and the International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), and all three establishments have attracted a plethora of companies and freelancers in recent years.Indeed, Mr Abdullah said there are now more than 1,820 partners across the three facilities, with occupancy levels in Dubai Studio City reaching 100 per cent in 2012. Dubai Media City is 93 per cent full, while the IMPZ has managed to fill around 70 per cent of its available space.He added that there are a number of key areas that are likely to grow in the coming years, including film and TV production, digital publishing and internet advertising.A crop of renowned companies, such as Getty Images, Euronews and Ticketmaster, have opened up new bases in Dubai's media district."We are noticing a demand from the west and even the east - China and India - to do film and TV productions in Dubai," Mr Abdullah was quoted as saying.Although the emirate's media sector is thriving, there have been suggestions that the Arab world as a whole needs to start creating more of its own video content, instead of importing it. Nevertheless, it is still extremely encouraging to see so many businesses finally recognising the potential of Dubai.Technology corporations have also been flooding into the city in their droves in recent years, with leaders of the cutting-edge Dubai Silicon Oasis suggesting that business has been booming.The technology park raked in an impressive AED 165.4 million in revenue in 2012 and this was a 26 per cent increase on the previous year.If this rate of expansion continues, Dubai will soon be classed as one of the leading IT hubs on the planet.