Saudi news channels start moving operations out of Dubai

Riyadh has told international firms to put their MidEast hubs there by the start of 2024 or risk losing out on business.

Saudi Arabian news channels are starting to transfer operations out of Dubai amid a push by the country’s crown prince to get multinational companies to relocate their headquarters to the kingdom. Staff at Al Arabiya and Al Hadath, both of which operate under the same media umbrella, were told of the plans to shift to Riyadh from Dubai on Monday, according to several people who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to speak on the matter. The move will happen in stages, the people said. The goal is to produce 12 hours of news programming from the Saudi capital by early January, the people said. The rest of the staff will be offered support to move progressively as facilities are completed, and management assured employees that there wouldn’t be layoffs, they said.