[May 24, 2013] AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, media and advertising briefs [AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates] Tweet (AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 23--DUBIZZLE LAUNCHES CONTENT PLATFORM IN EGYPT: Dubai-based online portal Dubizzle has announced the launch of its first web series and the formation of a content platform in Egypt, Campaign ME has reported. The web company is undertaking a major marketing push in the Arab world's most populous country in a bid to win market dominance and follows the rolling out of a traditional integrated campaign in February and March. "We don't want to spam our users, or potential fans. Instead our goal is to engage them with stories and super-high quality content that can add to their overall experience with the brand," said Alex Hutley, senior strategic planner at Dubizzle. "In order to do this we have created for the first time on any Dubizzle site, a platform for Dubizzle generated content. Over time this platform will host content that encapsulates our core message in Egypt of 'Make a change'." COMMERCIALISATION OF HD IN MENA NEEDS ENCRYPTION: STUDY: According to a study by UAE-based HD platform operator YahLive, satellite operator SES and Dubai-based broadcast consultancy ChannelSculptor, the Middle East and North Africa region is still lagging behind advanced markets in the development of HD services, despite being ahead of Europe in terms of HD screen sales growth and HDTV growth relative to the total number of TV channels, Digital TV Europe has reported. Although more than 10 percent of the region's channels are now broadcast in HD, compared with 9.3 percent in Europe, HD broadcasts are often of low quality, according to the study. "Commercialisation of HD requires channel 'encryption,' paving the future path for paid subscription and the development of a low-pay TV model," said Nick Grande, managing director of ChannelSculptor. "However, 'encryption' is perceived as a dirty word in this region as governments believe that it will undermine emerging HD audiences." YAHOO REVAMPS FLICKR: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has unveiled a redesigned Flickr website, as well as a new Flickr Android app and a free terabyte of storage for every Flickr user. "That's 70 times bigger than what anyone else is offering," Yahoo head of Mobile Adam Cahan said, referring to services such as Google Drive that tout 15GB of free storage. "It's not 70 gigabytes bigger. It's actually 70 times bigger." ___ (c)2013 AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Visit AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) at www.ameinfo.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]