It has increased investment in content ranging from docuseries and podcasts to news coverage, with a primary focus on business and finance, current affairs, the environment, climate change and beyond.
Independent Arabia, a part of the Saudi Research & Media Group (SRMG), has marked its third year of operations in news, with plans for ongoing expansion in long-form video content to meet the needs of its audience.
Independent Arabia, which owns the Arabic publishing rights in MENA for the global daily The Independent (UK), was first established as a digital and online news platform on 24 January 2019. Since the launch, it has evolved its content output to include original Arabic news and analysis, with credibility and accuracy at its core, as well as syndicated content from the UK edition.
This evolution has resulted in significant growth, with visitors to the Independent Arabia online portal reaching 29.9m in 2021, up from 4.7m in 2019; and the page views at 50m, up from 12.8m over the same period. While its audience base is primarily from the MENA region, the platform also attracts audiences from Europe and North America.
Independent Arabia announced that it will be increasing its investment in docuseries Amma Baad, which tackles political, socio-economic and scientific topics using rich graphics, animations, and exclusive interviews. Moreover, Independent Arabia has launched the Bekhtesar video series, which consists of five-minute video clips that address mainstream and controversial topics. The series aims to break down and simplify complicated topics and events through dynamic visual graphics and captivating audio narrations.
Having already produced more than ten podcasts on issues ranging from sports to health and finance, Independent Arabia will also introduce 60 podcast episodes throughout 2022. Some of the top podcasts produced by Independent Arabia include Fulous, which specialises in finance, business, and stocks; Rouh Makan, a show that takes listeners on a journey through time across ancient ages and continents; and Mataha which tackles topics pertaining to self-discovery and growth.
Adhwan Alahmari, Editor in Chief, Independent Arabia, said: “During the first two years, we had a primary focus on developing editorial content, scripts and graphics, which helped boost our readership in MENA significantly, and granted us access to a large percentage of Arab readers across the world. There is an indisputable shift in how audiences want to consume the news and so we focused our efforts towards developing high-quality audio and visual content such as videos, podcasts and long-form content, which has resonated significantly with our audiences.”
Alahmari added: “In the span of just three years, and due to our extensive editorial work, we have seen our audience grow from less than five million in our first year, to just shy of 30m by the end of 2021. There is a huge and growing appetite for high quality, informative Arabic premium content, and at Independent Arabia, we’re committed to going beyond the headlines to provide the news and analysis that our audience clearly values.”
Jomana R Al-Rashid, Chief Executive Officer, Saudi Research and Media Group (SRMG), stated: “SRMG’s growth, expansion and digital transformation strategy includes greater investments in multi-platform, multi-media, and premium content; while using data analytics to drive and optimize our news output and services. It’s a strategy exemplified by Independent Arabia and we’re delighted with the success Adhwan Alahmari and his team have achieved, in a relatively short space of time. We are looking forward to delivering more of the same news excellence and high-levels of audience engagement. Independent Arabia represents SRMG’s commitment to establishing strategic partnerships with leading global media organisations, creating added value for stakeholders and bringing trusted premium content to millions of Arabic-speaking audiences, in the MENA region and around the world.”
