Al Jazeera has announced a new partnership with Google, aimed at helping cement its position as a digital-first broadcaster.
The deal expands Al Jazeera’s relationship with Google with the broadcaster’s dedicated content already reaching over two million subscribers through Al Jazeera’s YouTube channels.
The Qatar-based broadcaster says its investment in and optimisations for mobile has led to mobile users now comprising over 70 per cent of its audience.
The partnership will focus on several key areas, including attracting and retaining audiences, building “great products” for video and mobile, maximising advertising revenues, and training journalists with digital skills. The two companies plan to allocate significant resources into the partnership.
“We are delighted to partner with the Al Jazeera Media Network to bring the best of Google to the company,” said Alfonso De Gaetano, director of global partnerships – emerging markets at Google. “The partnership covers a number of different areas such as monetisation solutions, distribution platforms like DoubleClick, YouTube, Cloud as well as digital tools training.”
“Our commitment to our users has always compelled us to seek out and leverage the best technology platforms in the world and Google’s proven track record of delivering make them the ideal partner for Al Jazeera Media Network. We greatly look forward to this partnership with Google as we continue to create exceptional value for our users.” said Abdulla Al Najjar, executive director, global brand and communications at Al Jazeera Media Network.
