UMS plans ‘Egypt’ news channel
June 1, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Cairo-based United Media Services (UMS) is planning to launch a news-focused channel that it says will report on regional and local news and to be launched early in 2022. It will be available to the Egyptian and Arab diaspora in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia as well as locally.
UMS is very much a regional giant and claims leadership as the largest media conglomerate in the MENA region. It owns some 30 subsidiaries serving media production, advertising and communications agencies.
“The aim of the channel is to propose Egypt’s vision not only for discussion but also opening the door for analysis and criticism,” it said. “The new regional channel will be able to address Arab audience’s interests on the right time, given that it is aimed to be the main source of the latest news in Egypt and the region,” the group added.
The channel is planned to be “a modern regional news channel based on the latest technical systems, presenting Egypt’s regional and local vision through public debate, and even criticism and analysis,” the group said at the launch press conference. UMS has started pre-production work at Cairo’s Media Production City.
UMS says it will also be looking at Drama productions and says it has signed with well-regarded local production houses including Al Adl Group, Elgabry Studio, Art Maker, Rosnama, Magnum and Media Hub. UMS controls a portfolio of TV channels (broadcasting under the ‘ON’ banner such as ON Drama).
UMS has also made some key appointments in a restructured company, including the appointment of a new chairman (Hassan Abdallah). UMS has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dubai-based MBC Group in a joint effort to counter piracy in the region.
UMS is also looking to float on the Cairo stock exchange (EGX) and with an IPO of 20-30 percent of shares available to the public. The IPO is currently slated for 2024.