Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does a motion picture, video and television programme business do?
It carries out screen content activities across the chain, covering production, supporting work such as editing and dubbing, distribution, projection, and the trading of distribution rights.
2. What does this activity cover?
It covers the production of motion pictures, videos, and television programmes, supporting activities like editing and dubbing, distribution and projection, and the buying and selling of distribution rights.
3. How large is the regional media and entertainment market?
The Middle East media and entertainment market was valued at USD 44.16 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 76.79 billion by 2031.
4. Who needs motion picture and programme content?
Broadcasters, streaming platforms, brands, and advertisers all need a constant supply of new content, and the UAE also draws international productions choosing to shoot locally.
5. Does this activity include operating a television channel?
No. The activity covers producing, distributing, and projecting content. Operating a television channel or broadcasting service is a separate, separately classified activity.
How to Start a Motion Picture, Video and Television Programme Business with Meydan Free Zone
A film looks effortless on screen. That is the whole point of it. What the audience never sees is the year of work behind ninety minutes of footage: the script rewritten a dozen times, the locations scouted, the shoot, the months of editing, the deal that finally puts it in front of a viewer. Motion picture, video and television programme activities is the business of all of that unseen work, turning an idea into something an audience can simply press play on.
The Middle East media and entertainment market was valued at USD 44.16 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach USD 76.79 billion by 2031, growing at close to 10 percent a year, according to Mordor Intelligence¹. The UAE is a central part of that picture: its cinema sector alone generated AED 800 million in 2024 from 1,262 films and more than 15 million tickets sold, according to figures from the UAE Media Council², and the country accounts for around 30 percent of the Middle East cinema market.
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An Industry Built Across Stages
Screen content is not made in one step. It moves through production, post-production, and distribution before it reaches an audience, and a business can operate across that whole chain.
Sources: Mordor Intelligence (2026); UAE Media Council via Arabian Business (2025).
The Ministry oversees media content and its classification. That framework is a clear, recognised content and classification system that allows producers, broadcasters, and international partners to work in the UAE with confidence that the rules are known and consistent.
The demand sits on content that never stops being needed. Broadcasters need programmes and commercials; streaming platforms need a constant supply of new titles; brands need films to tell their stories; and the UAE has positioned itself as a location international productions want to shoot in. A business that works across the chain, developing, producing, and moving content to where it is watched, can serve all of these at once.
The Middle East content market is growing at close to ten percent a year¹, and the UAE's role as a regional production and premiere hub brings more business into the country.
From feature films and television programmes to commercials and streaming content, the UAE rewards businesses that can carry a project from idea to audience.
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Who is this for?
- Integrated production companies: Businesses developing, producing, and delivering motion picture, video, and television content across the production chain.
- Television and commercial content producers: Producers making programmes, commercials, and branded content for broadcasters and brands.
- Content distribution and rights businesses: Businesses distributing finished productions and trading film and programme distribution rights.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate across the motion picture and television content chain in a fast-growing regional media market.
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5910.00 - Motion Picture, Video & Television Programme Activities
Under this activity, you are licensed to carry out motion picture, video, and television programme activities across the content chain.
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There are clear boundaries on this activity. As defined, it covers the production, supporting work, distribution, and projection of motion picture and programme content. It is the making and handling of content for cinemas and broadcasters; it does not extend to operating a television channel or broadcasting service, nor to the retail or rental of recorded media, each of which is classified separately.
The line is precise. If your business produces, supports, distributes, or projects motion picture and programme content, you are in. If you operate a broadcast channel, or retail or rent recorded media, you are not.
Third-Party Approval: Approval from the Ministry of Culture and Youth is required after the license is obtained.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Footnotes
¹ Mordor Intelligence. Middle East Media and Entertainment Market. Mordor Intelligence, 2026.
² UAE Media Council, reported by Arabian Business. UAE Cinema Box Office Hit $218m Last Year as E-Gaming Revenue Passed $408m. Arabian Business, March 2025.
