Media Ownership
Media ownership is paramount to the Egyptian power structure. As such, twenty out of the forty one media covered by the MOM belong to the State or the security bodies. In the past five years, the media landscape changed dramatically with President al-Sisi taking office, installing a tight grip over the public and private media, taking over media outlets from prominent businessmen.
The TV sector is the most popular when it comes to news. Out of the ten TV stations surveyed, six belong to the state (Al Oula, Al Thaneya and Nile News) or are owned by the Egyptian Media Group (EMG) closely linked to the General Intelligence (Al Hayah, On E, Extra News). One is owned by a prominent businessman who worked with the state television on advertising contracts (Al Nahar TV), two others belong to businessmen who were close to the Mubarak regime (Dream TV and Sada El Balad Channel) and one belongs to an international group based in Dubai (MBC Masr).
The radio sector is the most politically concentrated with seven radio stations out of ten in the hands of the state either through the National Media Authority (Al Sharq Al Aswat, Sawt Al Arab, Radio Masr, Al Bernameg Alaam) or through the state-owned Nile Radio Company (Mega FM, Nagham FM and Shabee FM). Only one is privately owned (Nogoum FM) while DRN Radio, owned by the Home Media Company closed in the course of the study and transferred to the EMG without any official statement. El Radio 9090 FM is owned by D Media company, which linked to military intelligence.
The print sector is one of the most diverse in terms of media ownership with three dailies directly owned by the State (Al Ahram, Al Akhbar and Al Gomhuria), one by the EMG linked to the General Intelligence (Al Youm Al Sabea), another one by a member of the board of the EMG (Al Watan), and the rest of them owned by wealthy businessmen (Al Shorouk, Al Masry Al Youm, El Fagr ), out of which two have political interests (Al Dostor and Al Bawaba).
The online sector is mostly dominated by companies involved in other traditional media sectors. Most of the popular outlets are digital versions of existing print media such as Al Masry Al Youm, Youm7, Al Shorouk, El Fagr, Al Watan, Ahram Gate, Akbar al Youm, TV such as Sada El Balad. Only two are independent from an existing media outlet and are owned by its journalists (Mada Masr) or by a wealthy businessman with interests in the telecommunications sector (Masrawy). One was first a website before its print version was issued (Al Bawaba).
And who owns these companies
The broadcast sector is mainly dominated by companies and organizations affiliated to the state (National Media Authority, Nile Radio Company), the General Intelligence (The Egyptian Media Group) and a few remain the properties of businessmen who could start their media activities during the Mubarak era thanks to their close connections to the regime at the time. When shedding light on these owners, one trend appears: the General Intelligence has been passing deals to take over their shares and increase their influence. There is no woman as media owners although former Investment Minister Dalia Korshid, is the Chairwoman of Eagle Capital, an investment firm that owns EMG.
