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AlJazeera offers news alerts, voice portal facilities to mobile users
DUBAI: aljazeera.net, the e-news arm of Arab’s 24-hour satellite channel AlJazeera, has tied up with Al Majaz Telecommunications to provide latest news alerts and developments to GSM subscribers in the UAE through the AlJazeera Mobile.
AlJazeera Mobile was launched at GITEX 2003, the annual exhibition held at the Dubai World Trade Center recently.
AlJazeera’s marketing director Ali Kamal was quoted in a company release as saying, “Utilising latest speech recognition voice portal facilities the service promises to provide subscribers with breaking news and political, business and sports updates, as well as analysis,” Kamal said, “We are happy to enter into this strategic partnership with Al Majaz and Etisalat.”
The UAE is a major market for the AlJazeera Mobile which charges a nominal fee for the latest and most comprehensive news coverage.
The news alert service will be available for a monthly fee of AEDs 15 through Etisalat. In addition to the monthly subscription services, GSM subscribers can also ‘pull’ the latest headlines at a minimal fee of only AEDs 2 per alert, the release specified.
Subscribers can also have news read to them from the website via a voice portal service for the same monthly subscription, though the process will differ from post to pre-paid customers.
After Qatar and the UAE, AlJazeera plans to extend the service to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with a plan to cover mobile service networks worldwide.
AlJazeera, which launched its Arabic online news platform almost three years ago, had recently re-launched its online English language version both enjoying a combined average monthly rate of 20 million visitors and is today among the world’s leading news portals.
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Reed Hastings to exit Netflix board as company posts steady growth
Shares dip 8 per cent as cofounder exits; revenue up 16 per cent to $12.25 billion.
MUMBAI- When the man who taught the world to binge decides to log off, the credits don’t just roll, they reset the script. Reed Hastings is set to step away from Netflix, marking the end of a defining chapter for a company that reshaped global entertainment even as its latest numbers suggest a business finding firmer footing.
Hastings, who co-founded Netflix nearly three decades ago and transformed it from a DVD-by-mail service into a streaming powerhouse, will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting in June. While the company offered little detail on his next move beyond philanthropy and personal pursuits, the symbolic weight of his departure was immediate. Shares fell around 8 per cent following the announcement, underlining how closely Hastings remains tied to investor confidence and the company’s long-term vision.
The exit comes at a moment of recalibration. Netflix has been working to stabilise growth after a period of strategic turbulence, including the loss of a high-profile $72 billion deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery to Paramount Skydance, a setback that raised fresh questions about its ambitions in large-scale content consolidation. Yet, if the deal slipped, the fundamentals appear to be holding.
For the first quarter, Netflix reported revenue growth of 16 per cent to $12.25 billion, slightly ahead of expectations, while earnings per share nearly doubled to $1.23 from 66 cents a year ago. The company reaffirmed its full-year outlook, projecting double-digit revenue growth, expanding margins and strong free cash flow signals aimed squarely at calming post-announcement jitters.
In its shareholder communication, Netflix struck a careful balance between legacy and continuity. Its mission, it reiterated, remains unchanged: to serve a global audience with diverse storytelling across languages and cultures. The message was clear—while a founder may exit, the playbook stays in motion.
At the same time, the company is quietly redrawing that playbook. Netflix is leaning into newer formats such as video podcasts and live programming, including events like the World Baseball Classic in Japan, reflecting a broader industry shift where streaming, television and live experiences increasingly overlap. Advertising, once an afterthought in its subscription-first model, is now moving centre stage, with the company projecting ad revenues of $3 billion in 2026 roughly double current levels.
Still, some questions linger in the wings. Chief among them is how Netflix plans to deploy the $2.8 billion termination fee from the collapsed Warner Bros deal. With competition for premium content intensifying, capital allocation decisions in the coming quarters could prove as consequential as the leadership transition itself.
For now, Netflix finds itself in a familiar paradox: a company built on disruption navigating continuity. Hastings may be stepping off the stage, but the show by design goes on.
