Rotana Wins FM radio license in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for SR67 million

Prince Alwaleed: “Rotana is the number one and strongest media company in the Middle East.”

Rotana Group, chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud, announces that it has won the third FM radio license in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for SR67 million. This will be the launch of the fourth FM radio station for Rotana, its first being in Jordan in 2005, second in Syria launched in 2006 and the third in Lebanon launched in 2007. Based on statistics, these stations are the leading radio stations in their host countries.

Prince Alwaleed commented: “Rotana is the number one and strongest media company in the Middle East.”

Before it acheived its licence in Saudi Arabia, Rotana’s experience in the field of radio had enabled it to produce entertainment and arts programs in cooperation with significant radio stations in the Arab world that include Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Rotana owns the largest Arabic music library in additon to having technological expertise enabling it to establish high tech studios for sound recording, computer programming, production and sound mixing. Also,  studios for live digital broadcasting.

Mr. Firas Khashman, General Manager of Emerging Business commented: “The Rotana Radio station in Saudi Arabia will not only be unique in its content but also in quality and advanced technology, that our listeners will detect and notice.” Hs added: “Our experience, successful background and quality of content will enable us to focus on achieving prominence in the field of Saudi radio as our strategy goes beyond just launching a radio station.”  

Rotana radio will receive significant support in the region as it is part of Rotana Group, a key distributor and producer of Arabic movies, manages many of the most popular artists in the region and controls the biggest Arabic music catalogue. Rotana also owns a bouquet of leading free-to-air TV channels including LBC Sat, Cinema, Khalijiyah and Musica broadcasting the latest Arabic movies, series and music videos globally and a library comprising more than 1,500 movies. Rotana produces over half of Arab film annually. Furthermore, Rotana has radio stations as mentioned, a chain of cafes and its own magazine. It also operates a leading regional advertising sales arm (Rotana Media Services), responsible for advertising sales on its TV channels as well other media businesses in the region. Rotana's content is also digitally distributed globally through its innovative Rotana Digital Media unit. The Rotana Group employs over 1,300 employees located across the Middle East.

Recently, Rotana Group, announced that Newscorp has reached an agreement to buy a 9.09 percent stake in Rotana Group, the Middle East media group. Under the terms of the agreement, News Corporation will acquire newly-issued shares in Rotana for $70 million. Newscorp has an option to increase its stake to 18.18 percent in the 18 months following completion. The announcement was made during a press conference held at Rotana offices at Kingdom Tower. During the conference, Prince Alwaleed said that Rotana’s deal with News Corp. was not only a great achievement for Rotana but to the Arab media sector as a whole as News Corp. is the largest media company globally and reaches all continents.  HRH added that Rotana was selcted for its strength in the Arab world and will further be enhanced by News Corp.’s expertise in this field, that includes television and film production.