Half a million viewers have been enjoying an interactive digital TV experience thanks to MBC4's experimental TV drama '04'. The show has recently collaborated with Google, and fans can now engage with the show's actors via live social media updates, blogs and online videos.

According to IPSOS MediaCT, audience figures for TV have doubled since the beginning of the political unrest in the region. However, despite the doubling growth, major Arabic news channels have witnessed a drop in advertising spending, where Al Arabiya news channel saw a 15 per cent decline since the beginning of the protests, The National has reported.

MBC4 announced its comprehensive and content-rich new grid of locally produced flagship programs, coupled with those acquired globally, with its aim to continue raising the levels of engagement with Arab women and simultaneously widen its audience base to young Arab families. In this context, the channel announced the launch of a multitude of new programs and series, most notably the top-rated global TV format "Got Talent" in its Arabic version: "Arabs' Got Talent".

The National reports that advertising expenditure during the Holy Month of Ramadan is expected to rise this year, reversing a drop of approximately 25 per cent last year. MBC Group is forecasting a two-digit growth in Ramadan’s advertising revenue on MBC1 this year versus last year, according to Mazen Hayek, MBC Group’s director of public relations and commercial.

The National, UAE's English-language newspaper published by Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), has announced the launch of an innovative new panel discussion series, 'National Industry Insights'. The event series will debate current industry issues in the context of the wider Middle Eastern business landscape. Leading regional business figures will convene in Abu Dhabi on July 5th for the inaugural session: 'Addressing the Future of TV Revenues in the UAE.'