In pursuit of its long-term objective of providing an effective digital media service, the Ministry expanded its electronic endeavours to cover production, publishing and the promotion of media content of all kinds. Throughout 2021, the Directorate-General of Electronic Media worked on developing the video-on-demand platform project Ayn, and a group of programmes exclusive to the platform were aired in a trial broadcast on 1 September 2021.
Ayn is the Sultanate of Oman’s first interactive digital platform with a focus on Omani and Arab content and a mission to build bridges of communication between the Ministry and the public. It offers a range of services and media products with broad appeal on the one hand, and strong marketing capacity on the other, enabling it to compete effectively in a field of diverse electronic platforms.
The platform has assembled a wide collection of audio-visual content representing more than ten thousand media items from the Ministry of Information’s various radio and television channels. These materials are preserved and archived on the platform in an easy-access format designed to provide users with a seamless browsing experience in their chosen media form.
Recognising the preference of social media users for visual and other digital formats, the Ministry has been developing electronic content that is shared through its accounts, publishing video clips, images and newsfeeds to followers inside the Sultanate of Oman and abroad.