Augustus Media
Augustus is a digital media company based in Dubai, Cairo, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. In 2017, Lovin Dubai, operated by Augustus Media, acquired UAE-based tabloid 7days, which announced it would cease operations by the end of December 2016 due to significant reductions in advertising revenue. It also owns several other brands, including local news platform Lovin Saudi and the streaming service Smashi.
History
Augustus was registered in November 2015 in the DMCC Freezone. Augustus had signed a 10-year franchise agreement with Lovin Media Group for the Lovin Dubai Franchise, launching Lovin Dubai on the 1st of September 2015. In 2016, Augustus launched to the public as a ‘new media' company.In January 2017 Lovin Dubai purchased the social media profiles of 7Days newspaper. The parent company, 7Days Media, confirmed that the newspaper and its digital operations would cease on December 31, with the final print edition released on December 22. This closure affected approximately 120 employees.
Lovin Saudi launched in September 2017, with offices in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In February 2019, the Smashi content platform was launched, followed by the introduction of the in-house content studio, Odeum Content Studio.
In January 2022, Augustus Media moved to a new studio worth 1 mln USD in Dubai Production City. In May 2022, the company completed the acquisition of CAM Plus Sports and launched Lovin in 6 new cities, including Lovin Doha, Lovin Cairo, and Lovin Bahrain. In July 2022, Augustus Media company secured exclusive digital streaming broadcast rights with the UAE Futsal Federation, and subsequently obtained digital streaming broadcast rights with the UAE Volleyball Federation.
In 2023, Augustus Media cooperated with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Investment and the Ministry of [Communications and Information Technology (Saudi Arabia)|Ministry of Communications and Information Technology's] Ignite program.