Dubai Media City is celebrating 25 years since its establishment, marking a significant milestone in its mission to foster innovation and solidify Dubai’s position as a global media and content creation hub. Since its founding, the city has played a pivotal role in supporting the growth of the media sector and creative industries across the region.
Established as part of TECOM Group’s specialized business clusters, Dubai Media City has evolved into a magnet for top media talent, global media giants, and creative professionals. With its visionary inception aimed at transforming Dubai into the Arab world’s media capital, the city has provided an advanced infrastructure and specialized business environment that has consistently supported the evolution of the media landscape.
Today, Dubai Media City forms the backbone of TECOM Group’s media sector, operating alongside Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City to create an integrated media ecosystem. Collectively, these hubs are home to over 40,000 media professionals, content creators, and creatives, and host more than 60% of Fortune 500 media companies, in addition to a wide array of regional and international digital platforms, broadcasters, and social media content creators.
Vision Inspired by Leadership
Majed Al Suwaidi, Senior Vice President of TECOM Group – overseeing Dubai Media City, Dubai Production City, and Dubai Studio City – credited the far-reaching vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, for the city’s success.
“Thanks to His Highness’s visionary leadership, Dubai Media City has grown into a world-leading destination for media and content production. Over the past 25 years, we’ve attracted top global media pioneers and empowered them to thrive regionally and globally, helping accelerate Dubai’s transition to a knowledge- and innovation-driven economy,” Al Suwaidi said.
He reaffirmed Dubai Media City’s commitment to delivering a future-ready, innovation-driven ecosystem for media and content production, aligned with Dubai’s vision to become a global capital of the creative economy.
Home to Global and Regional Media Powerhouses
Dubai Media City offers world-class infrastructure and a supportive business environment that has attracted a host of international media giants such as CNN, Discovery Networks, WPP, and Publicis Groupe. It is also home to influential regional companies like ITP Media Group, which owns over 75 media brands reaching 100+ million people, and OSN Group, which secured strategic investment from Warner Bros. Discovery for its streaming platform last year.
The city’s support has been instrumental in the growth and expansion of media professionals and organizations locally and globally. Dubai Media City, alongside its sister clusters, also played a key role in Dubai being named the Arab Media Capital for 2020 and 2021 by the Arab Ministers of Information.
A Global Leader in Creative Investments
Dubai maintained its global leadership in attracting new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in cultural and creative industries in 2024 – for the third consecutive year – according to the fDi Markets report by the Financial Times. That year alone, Dubai attracted 971 new creative projects, drawing in AED 18.86 billion in FDI capital and creating over 23,500 new jobs.
Empowering Talent and Innovation
Dubai Media City continues to fuel the creative economy through strategic talent development initiatives, including the UAE Media Talent Pledge, signed at the Arab Media Forum in 2024 by TECOM Group.
The city also supports projects such as the InstaBlock Lab, a collaboration between the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism and Spain’s La Liga, aimed at protecting intellectual property and combating content piracy. Launched in 2025, the lab operates from Dubai Media City and accelerates site-blocking efforts for pirated content.
Additionally, the city organizes community events like Creative Brunch and serves as a strategic partner in key regional industry events such as Dubai Lynx, the MENA region’s leading festival of creativity. It also backs thought leadership initiatives, including the Arab Media Outlook report by the Dubai Press Club, where it acts as a knowledge partner.
A Launchpad for Media Startups
As part of its commitment to innovation, Dubai Media City supports media startups through in5 Media, one of TECOM’s four specialized business incubators. Since its launch in 2013, in5 has supported more than 1,100 startups, which have collectively raised over AED 9 billion in funding.
in5 Media offers startups access to creative spaces, mentorship, production facilities, and podcast studios. It also connects them with industry leaders and provides collaboration opportunities across TECOM’s wider ecosystem – including Dubai Studio City’s state-of-the-art production infrastructure and Dubai Internet City’s D/Quarters, a collaborative workspace for tech and creative businesses.
