Al Jazeera Arabic is the first Arab news channel to reach ten million followers on Facebook.
The channel says that alongside its continued status as the most-watched Arab channel on TV, the Facebook milestone exemplifies Al Jazeera’s determination to be the number one pan-Arab news outlet across all platforms.
“The Arab viewer since 1996 has evolved from a TV viewer to someone who now absorbs news content on TV, tablets, desktops and mobile whenever and wherever they want”, said Yaser Abuhilalah, managing director of Al Jazeera Arabic.
Al Jazeera Arabic’s Facebook page provides followers the ability to engage with the latest news, analysis and features. In December 2014, the page reach improved from appearing on 1.5m timelines daily, to 4m. At the same time, the rate of engagement through comments, shares and clicks increased from 100,000 to 220,000 per day.
Abuhilalah added: “Al Jazeera will always hold true to our values of journalism and fearless reporting, however will change and adapt to new technology and platforms on which it is delivered. The constant evolution in news consumption is not due to the strategy of the channel but is due to the partnership with you, the viewer, the follower and the consumer. Each of the ten million followers on Facebook is a partner, same as anyone who shares our content on Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus as well as the person who watches Al Jazeera on TV. I hope the partnership will expand and will continue to be enhanced.”