Media and Culture

In a surprising move, Cinema City, a multiplex cinema theatre based in Damascus, announced that it was reopening its doors, a year after its closure.

One of Syria’s state-owned press groups is reportedly planning to issue a daily newspaper to cover Tartous local news.

The National Information Council is obliging all news websites to obtain a formal license as a prerequisite to continue publishing.

Syrian state-owned dailies have cut down the number of their pages as the government request a cut in costs.

United Group, Syria’s largest media group, saw a drop of 50 percent in its revenues last year according to preliminary filings.

The decline in Syria’s advertising market is continuing to take its toll on Syria’s largest media group which has seen its revenues drop by more than 90 percent in two years.

The Syrian President has named new members for the National Information Council, which formally acts as the regulator of the Syrian media industry.

Cinema City, the landmark multiplex cinema theatre located in central Damascus, which symbolized Syria’s shift towards a consumer society, has closed its doors.

United Group, Syria’s largest media group, saw a massive drop in revenues last year over the contraction of the advertising market.

Syria’s last remaining English-language print magazine has suspended publication as worsening economic and security conditions continue to take their toll on the media industry.

The revenues of United Group, Syria’s largest media company, plunged 65 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2012 amidst a slump in the advertising market.

Eutelsat Communications, the French operator of the Hot Bird satellites, has suspended the broadcast of Syria’s main state-owned channel and of another channel featuring dramas and soap operas, according to the Syrian news agency.

Arabsat and Nilesat have stopped broadcasting Syrian television channels in line with recommendations passed by the Arab League in June.

Revenues continued to plunge at UG, Syria’s largest media group, as the industry suffers from the economic downturn.

The Syrian authorities have criticized as an attack against the “freedom of expression” the request made by the Arab League on June 2 to Arabsat and Nilesat to remove the pro-government Syrian TV channels they are carrying.

A Presidential decree has granted a 50 percent reduction in income taxes to film production companies, a move directed at an industry that has grown quickly in recent years.

The Syrian Enterprise and Business Centre has announced the signing of two agreements to provide capacity building and other advisory services to the Port of Lattakia and the government's Museum Directorate.

The National Media Council, a body created under the media law enacted last year, has licensed 16 new publications, according to SANA.

The US Treasury has added the Syrian state-run Radio and Television organisation to its list of entities and individuals that face an asset freeze.