Moby Media Group is the largest media company in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Moby Group is privately owned, with headquarters in
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
and 15 bureaus throughout Afghanistan. The company also has an office in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
, where regional business is conducted.
History
Moby Group was founded by
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...
Saad Mohseni
Saad Mohseni (Persian: سعد محسنی) is an Afghan Australian businessman and entrepreneur. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of MOBY Group, launched in Afghanistan in 2002 and now active across South and Central Asia and the ...
with the start-up help of United States government money and with a cash injection from
News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...
, led by his friend
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
. The company has partnered with
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
in Afghanistan, and the US government has continued funding some of its broadcasts.
Saad Mohseni is an
Afghan-Australian who returned to his native Afghanistan in 2002. Saad is founder and current
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of Moby Group. Based in the capital city of
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, as of 2010 the company employs over 400 staff across 11 businesses.
In 2015, the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
labeled TOLO TV a 'propaganda network'.
In 2016, its subsidiary Lapis was paid AU$1.6 million for promoting a controversial "anti-refugee" film commissioned by the
Australian Department of Immigration. The film was also broadcast on TOLO TV.
Moby Group has offices in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
UAE
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, and
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
.
Group structure
The company has three divisions:
* Moby Media Group, with the broadcast brands
TOLOnews
TOLOnews (Pashto/Persian: ) is Afghanistan's first 24/7 news television channel, owned by MOBY Group, launched in August, 2010. Its sister channels are TOLO TV and Lemar TV in Afghanistan.
The channel is available on terrestrial across Afghanist ...
,
TOLO TV
TOLO ( fa, طلوع, , sunrise) is a commercial television station operated by MOBY Group in Afghanistan. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by of ...
,
Lemar TV
Lemar (Pashto:لمر, meaning "sun" in Pashto) is a television station based in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was founded in 2006. It is owned by MOBY Group. The channel broadcasts news, shows, and entertainment programs in the Pashto language. Its s ...
,
Arman FM
ARMAN FM is a general entertainment commercial radio station in Afghanistan. It broadcasts 24/7 in Dari and Pashto and is also available on live stream on ARMAN FM's website.
History
ARMAN FM takes its name from the Dari/Pashto word that means ...
and
Tolo Music (Web), along with production, media distribution, talent management, print media and directories.
* Moby Technology Group, which operates technology companies Afghan ITT and 456 in the IT&T and
Interactive voice response
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that allows telephone users to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones input with a keypad. In telecommunications, IVR allows customers to interact ...
arenas.
* Moby People Group, which includes the advertising agency Lapis and the AndeshaGah
Internet café
An Internet café, also known as a cybercafé, is a café (or a convenience store or a fully dedicated Internet access business) that provides the use of computers with high bandwidth Internet access on the payment of a fee. Usage is generally ...
chain.
See also
*
Internet in Afghanistan
*
Communications in Afghanistan
Communications in Afghanistan is under the control of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). It has rapidly expanded after the Karzai administration took over in late 2001, and has embarked on wireless companies, inter ...
References
External links
Moby Media Group
Mass media companies of Afghanistan
Mass media companies established in 2002
2002 establishments in Afghanistan
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