Al-Bilad Newspaper

What Al-Bilad Newspaper does

Al-Bilad Newspaper (صحيفة البلاد) is a privately held Saudi Arabian newspaper company headquartered in Jeddah with a branch office in Riyadh. Founded on April 3, 1932 as Sawt Al-Hejaz by Muhammad Salih Naseef, it is recognized as the first Saudi newspaper. Operating under the legal name Al-Bilad Al-Saudiyah (صحيفة البلاد السعودية) and the DBA Albilad Daily, the company has 101-250 employees and serves a broad general readership of Saudi and Arab consumers across the GCC region. The company has no disclosed parent company, institutional investors, or funding rounds.

The company's product offering centers on a WordPress-based digital publishing platform at albiladdaily.com that delivers multi-category Arabic-language news coverage spanning politics, sports, local Saudi affairs, economy, technology, society, women's interest, and opinion/editorial content. Distribution extends beyond the primary website to include a daily PDF edition for download, a 10-year searchable digital archive (archive.albiladdaily.com), and active social media presence across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Flipboard, and Google News. The underlying technology is standard CMS-based with no proprietary technical assets disclosed.

Al-Bilad's revenue model comprises two streams: advertising sales (operated through an ad management function on the website) and digital subscriptions (operated through a subscription management system). Pricing details are not publicly disclosed. The company's go-to-market is sales-led through its multi-channel distribution and content positioning, targeting general readers rather than enterprise customers. No named advertisers, partnership deals, awards, patents, or regulatory actions are disclosed in available data.

Name

Al-Bilad Newspaper

Legal name

جريدة البلاد السعودية (Al-Bilad Al-Saudiyah Newspaper)

Website

https://albiladdaily.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Al-Bilad Newspaper is a privately held Saudi Arabic-language newspaper founded in 1932 as the first Saudi newspaper, headquartered in Jeddah with a Riyadh branch. It publishes multi-category news via a WordPress-based digital platform, PDF editions, social media channels, and a 10-year archive, monetized through advertising and digital subscriptions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

Keywords

• Arabic newspaper publishing
• Digital news media
• News content publishing
• Print and digital journalism
• News subscription services

Headquarters

HQ city

Jeddah

HQ country

Saudi Arabia

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The newspaper sells advertising space on its digital platform and in its print/digital editions as a primary revenue stream, with an 'Ad Management' section (إدارة الإعلانات) listed on the website, indicating active ad sales operations.
2. Digital Subscriptions: The newspaper maintains a subscription management system (إدارة الاشتراكات) on its website, suggesting paid digital subscription services for readers.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Al-Bilad Newspaper is a Saudi Arabic-language newspaper publisher that produces daily news across multiple categories — Politics, Local News, Sports, Economy, Technology, Society, Women's interest, Follow-ups, and Opinion/Writers' articles. The company operates a digital publishing platform (albiladdaily.com) featuring real-time news articles, a downloadable PDF Digital Edition of the daily issue, and a searchable 10-year digital archive of past publications. Revenue is generated through advertising sales and paid digital subscriptions via dedicated ad management and subscription management services on its website.

Product overview

Al-Bilad Newspaper operates as a traditional print and digital news organization offering a single unified digital newspaper platform. The company's digital presence includes the core website delivering real-time news across multiple specialized category sections (Politics, Sports, Local News, Technology, Economy, Women, Society, and Writer Articles), a PDF digital edition for the daily print issue, and an archive service for past publications spanning 10 years. The newspaper was established on April 3, 1932, making it the first Saudi newspaper and holds a prominent position in the Saudi media landscape.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Al-Bilad Digital Newspaper Platform (albiladdaily.com) Al-Bilad Newspaper's primary digital news platform, offering real-time Arabic-language coverage of news across multiple categories including politics, sports, local Saudi news, technology, economy, society, women's content, follow-ups, opinion/writers, and first-page stories. Targeted at Saudi and Arab general news readers.
• Daily PDF Digital Edition PDF version of the daily newspaper issue available for download, allowing readers to access the complete print-equivalent edition digitally. Targeted at general readers who want a full daily edition experience.
• Al-Bilad News Archive Searchable archive of past issues of the newspaper spanning 10 years, allowing readers to access historical editions. Targeted at general readers, researchers, and anyone interested in past news coverage.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Asharq Al-Awsat (الشرق الأوسط): Asharq Al-Awsat is a pan-Arab daily newspaper headquartered in London with strong Saudi ownership ties. It competes with Al-Bilad for Arabic-speaking readers and advertisers across news, politics, and economy verticals, and runs a similarly broad digital-plus-print distribution model.
• Arab News: Arab News is a Saudi-based English-language daily newspaper published in Jeddah. It competes with Al-Bilad for Saudi advertisers and audience attention across politics, economy, and lifestyle content, with a parallel print-and-digital model and multi-platform distribution.
• Saudi Gazette: Saudi Gazette is a Saudi English-language daily newspaper published in Jeddah. It is a direct peer to Al-Bilad, sharing the same Jeddah base, a print-and-digital model, and a multi-vertical Saudi news focus targeting both local and expatriate readers.
• Al-Riyadh (صحيفة الرياض): Al-Riyadh is a major Saudi Arabic-language daily newspaper based in Riyadh. It directly competes with Al-Bilad across the same content categories (politics, sports, local, economy) and operates a comparable digital-and-print publishing model targeting Saudi readers.
• Okaz (صحيفة عكاظ): Okaz is one of the leading Saudi Arabic-language daily newspapers, headquartered in Jeddah. It is a direct competitor to Al-Bilad, covering similar politics, sports, economy, and local Saudi news verticals and operating both print and digital editions serving the same Saudi audience.
• Al-Madina (صحيفة المدينة): Al-Madina is a Saudi Arabic-language daily newspaper based in Jeddah. It directly competes with Al-Bilad for the same Jeddah and Saudi readership across politics, local news, sports, and opinion content, using a comparable print and digital publishing approach.

Broad incumbents

• Al Arabiya (العربية): Al Arabiya is a leading Saudi-owned 24-hour Arabic news network spanning TV and digital. While primarily broadcast-based, its large Arabic digital newsroom and live coverage compete with Al-Bilad for the same Saudi news audience and digital advertising budgets.
• Al-Hayat (صحيفة الحياة): Al-Hayat is a pan-Arab daily newspaper with a broad regional reach across the Middle East. It competes with Al-Bilad for Arabic-language readers and advertisers but operates at a larger, pan-Arab scale rather than focusing on the Saudi domestic market.

Emerging players

• Sabq (سبق): Sabq is a Saudi digital-native news platform focused on breaking news. It competes with Al-Bilad for Saudi digital readership and advertiser budgets, particularly among younger, mobile-first audiences, and represents the digital-first model Al-Bilad is competing against.

Others

• Saudi Press Agency (SPA / واس): SPA is the official state newswire of Saudi Arabia. While not a commercial competitor, SPA is a primary source for the political, local, and economic news Al-Bilad reports on, making it a key ecosystem counterpart in the Saudi news distribution chain.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/albiladdaily
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCV6Hm5Wi8DHJ75zACSuhMSg
• Facebookfacebook.com/albiladdailynews
• Instagraminstagram.com/albiladdaily
• Pinterestpinterest.com/albiladdaily/pins

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Al-Bilad Newspaper