Saudi Media Forum 2026 Showcases the Kingdom’s Role as Regional Hub for Media, Culture, Innovation
The Saudi Media Forum has emerged as a leading platform that brings together media professionals and decision-makers each year, hosting prominent figures and industry leaders to discuss key issues and challenges facing the sector and explore ways to keep pace with a rapidly changing global landscape. The forum has become a central event in a year marked by media transformation, reflecting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to position the Kingdom as a regional center for media and culture.
The forum highlights the role of media in shaping national awareness, keeping pace with artificial intelligence, advancing deep storytelling, and exploring new avenues of influence in the post-digital era. This direction underscores a strategic shift toward a Saudi media ecosystem that not only adapts to global change but helps lead it, creating meaningful impact aligned with national priorities.
Closely linked to Vision 2030, the forum serves as one of the Kingdom’s soft-power tools, showcasing the media transformation achieved through enabling policies and regulatory development. This year’s edition carries particular significance as it coincides with the 10th anniversary of Vision 2030, reflecting national progress and the engagement of participants with the Kingdom’s ambitious transformation agenda.
The forum reinforces Saudi Arabia’s position as a hub for media, culture, and creative leadership, supporting the growth of creative industries and the digital economy, empowering national talent in advanced media fields, and amplifying the Kingdom’s voice globally through balanced and compelling narratives. It has evolved into more than a dialogue platform—becoming a leading Saudi venue for media exchange, capacity building, innovation, and international collaboration.
The forum’s agenda covers a wide range of critical topics, including global media challenges, the role of media in energy transitions and sustainable innovation, crisis communication, digital media infrastructure, the impact of esports on audiences and media, the media and entertainment economy, investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, media planning in the digital era, the use of artificial intelligence in journalism and content creation, the rise of documentary films, economic policies linked to Vision 2030, the global trajectory of Saudi content, audience engagement trends, and innovation in storytelling and visual production.
The Saudi Media Award—one of the forum’s flagship events—has expanded to four main tracks encompassing 14 categories across the media sector. Within the visual and audio content track, the award introduced a first-of-its-kind category for AI‑generated content, marking a significant milestone in the history of media awards. As the first global professional award dedicated to this field, it signals a major shift in creative industries and reflects the Kingdom’s ambition to lead in the integration of artificial intelligence into advanced content production, blending human creativity with cutting-edge technology.
The forum also features the Future of Media Exhibition (FOMEX), which brings together government entities and local and international companies to showcase the latest media technologies and products, offering a platform for strategic partnerships and future-oriented dialogue. The FOMEX stage hosts panel discussions and workshops with speakers from around the world.
A suite of specialized initiatives complements the forum’s activities, including the Saudi Media Innovation Bootcamp (Saudi MIB), the SMF GROW UP program supporting emerging media companies, the “Idea Lab” for creative concept development, the SMF Connect initiative for international media cooperation, the “Forum Spotlight” initiative aimed at sustaining year-round media engagement, and the “Media Ambassadors” program designed to prepare a new generation of Saudi media professionals.
