By: Zaira Lakhpatwala

Six Middle East countries – UAE, KSA, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen – have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Qatari nationals in the UAE have 14 days to leave the country while diplomats have 48 hours to return home. UAE nationals are banned from traveling to or staying in Qatar or even, transiting through its territories.

During this tumultuous time, we look at how the situation is affecting the media and advertising landscape.

Homegrown alliances
 
Most agencies feel relatively safe about their Qatari operations due to local alliances. For those whose MENA operations are headquartered in the UAE, it will be challenging to manage the business. Industry sources report that they’re waiting to assess the full impact of the situation and looking into how they can manage their businesses and should have more clarity in the coming days.

Media airing and buying 
The UAE and KSA have already blocked Qatar-based media, most notably Al Jazeera. Clients investing in GCC or pan-Arab media will hit a few stumbling blocks. But, according to media sources, there are workarounds to this and agencies will work closely with media houses to figure out the best solutions for clients.

Other than the block placed on Qatari media in the six countries, it’s too soon to tell the impact the Qatar alienation will have on advertising and media. We’ll update this story as the situation develops.