Gulf News: Dubai's English-language daily, from 1978 tabloid to paywalled digital publisher

Overview

Gulf News is an English-language daily newspaper published in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, launched on 30 September 1978 and owned by Al Nisr Publishing. It is the UAE’s largest English-language daily, a position it held while print circulation fell and digital revenue lagged, prompting the UAE’s first newspaper paywall in 2021 and the end of weekend print editions in 2023 (Arabian Business; Arab News).

This profile covers the Dubai-based Gulf News published at gulfnews.com — not any similarly named publication elsewhere in the Gulf. It survived a near-collapse in its early years, was bought by three Dubai businessmen in 1984, and was relaunched under Al Nisr Publishing on 10 December 1985 (Arabian Business). Its own history traces the relaunch to new premises, new printing technology, and a marketing push that lifted advertising revenue and subscriptions within months (Gulf News).

From a struggling tabloid to market leader

Gulf News began as a tabloid and, by its own account, barely survived its first years with a circulation of about 3,000 before the 1984 takeover (Gulf News). The three buyers — Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Abdullah Hassan Al Rostamani and Juma Al Majid — formed Al Nisr Publishing and relaunched the paper in December 1985 (Arabian Business). The paper then expanded across the Gulf: its own history records distribution into other Gulf Cooperation Council countries from 1987, a Manila bureau in 1990, and a New Delhi bureau in November 1995 (Gulf News).

By 2009 it was, in the words of rival-turned-chronicler The National, the UAE’s largest English-language daily — and an unusual one, because its circulation grew during an advertising downturn, from 118,584 in September 2008 to 123,444 by mid-2009 after a brief peak of 126,320 (The National). In 2012 it became the first newspaper in the region to adopt the Berliner format (Arabian Business). Its fiercest competition has always been the other Dubai English daily founded in 1978, Khaleej Times, with both papers chasing the expatriate readers who form a majority of the country’s population (Arab News).

Print retreat and the paywall

The digital era reversed the paper’s print fortunes. In April 2021 Gulf News announced it would put its online content behind a paywall — the first such move by a UAE newspaper — with Standard access at 5.95 dirhams a month and Prime access at 8.96 dirhams a month or 52 dirhams a year (Arab News). The paper’s chief executive, Abdul Hamid Ahmad, told Arab News that print revenue had long subsidised free online content and could no longer do so (Arab News). The paywall made Gulf News the only local Emirati newspaper requiring a paid subscription, a distinction rival Khaleej Times promptly mocked with its “no toll gates in our lanes” promise of free news (Arab News).

Gulf News drew an average of 230 million monthly page views and 15 million unique visitors, yet saw no matching revenue — which implies its paywall was a monetisation fix for an audience problem it did not have (Arab News). Two years later, print retreated further: in a May 2023 letter to advertisers, Al Nisr Publishing said readers had shifted to online platforms and that weekend print editions would stop from 3 June 2023, leaving the paper in print Monday to Friday (Arabian Business). By then Arabian Business reported the paper quoting a circulation of 77,781 from Saturday to Thursday and 77,381 on Fridays — far below the 123,444 The National had recorded in 2009 (Arabian Business; The National).

Covering South Asia for a diaspora readership

Gulf News matters beyond the UAE because its core audience is the expatriate workforce — above all South Asians — and its reporting follows that readership’s concerns in both directions. Arab News notes that Gulf News and Khaleej Times compete for the expatriate segment that forms a majority of the UAE’s population (Arab News). The paper’s own history records a New Delhi bureau opened in November 1995, giving it a reporting base in India alongside its Gulf bureaus (Gulf News).

That two-way coverage shows up in how other outlets use its work. South Asia Monitor reported that Dubai-based Indian expatriates who lost their belongings in a warehouse fire pursued compensation through the Kerala High Court, crediting Gulf News for the underlying reporting (South Asia Monitor). The Hindustan Times likewise cited a Gulf News report when covering a Kerala expatriate’s return home after 51 years working in the UAE (Hindustan Times). Beyond news, the paper has run long-lived community fixtures: its own history dates the Gulf News Fun Drive, a desert motoring event, to March 1986 (Gulf News).

Year	Milestone
1978	Launches in tabloid format in Dubai on 30 September
1984–1985	Bought by three Dubai businessmen; relaunched under Al Nisr Publishing
1996	First online edition launches
2012	First in the region to adopt the Berliner format
2021	First UAE newspaper paywall
2023	Weekend print editions end; print continues Monday–Friday

(The table distils milestones confirmed by Arabian Business, Arab News, and the paper’s own history (Arabian Business; Arab News; Gulf News).)

Frequently asked questions

When was Gulf News founded? Gulf News launched in tabloid format on 30 September 1978 in Dubai. It struggled in its early years, was bought by three Dubai businessmen in 1984, and relaunched under Al Nisr Publishing on 10 December 1985, which is the founding line of the modern paper.

Who owns Gulf News? The paper is owned by Al Nisr Publishing LLC, formed by Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Abdullah Hassan Al Rostamani and Juma Al Majid when they bought the paper in 1984. A wider Al Tayer Group link is often stated elsewhere but was not independently confirmed in this pass.

Is Gulf News the UAE’s biggest English newspaper? The National described it as the UAE’s largest English-language daily in 2009, and Arab News in 2021 called it one of the two leading UAE English-language dailies alongside Khaleej Times. Both papers were founded in Dubai in 1978 and compete for expatriate readers.

Why did Gulf News introduce a paywall? It announced the paywall in April 2021 because print revenue, which had long subsidised free online content, kept declining. It was the first UAE newspaper to charge for digital access, with Standard access at 5.95 dirhams a month and Prime at 8.96 dirhams a month or 52 dirhams a year.

Does Gulf News still print on weekends? No. From 3 June 2023, Al Nisr Publishing stopped Saturday and Sunday print editions, citing readers’ shift to online platforms. The paper remains in print from Monday to Friday, while its website carries weekend coverage and its digital subscription offers the full service.

Timeline

• 1978 — Gulf News launches in tabloid format on 30 September in Dubai (Arabian Business).
• 1980 — The paper switches to a morning broadsheet, seven days a week (Gulf News, first-party).
• 1984 — Three Dubai businessmen buy the paper and form Al Nisr Publishing (Arabian Business).
• 1985 — Gulf News relaunches under Al Nisr Publishing on 10 December (Arabian Business).
• 1996 — The first online edition launches on 1 September (Gulf News, first-party).
• 2012 — First newspaper in the region to adopt the Berliner format (Arabian Business).
• 2021 — First UAE newspaper paywall is announced (Arab News).
• 2023 — Saturday and Sunday print editions end from 3 June (Arabian Business).

What this profile does not claim

• It does not assert that Al Nisr Publishing sits inside the Al Tayer Group; that link was not confirmed from an independent source read in full.
• It does not present circulation figures from different years as a single trend line; 2009 and 2023 figures come from different sources and methods.
• It does not treat the paper’s own award claims (including WAN-IFRA 2023 awards) as independently verified.
• It does not assert a specific Gulf News report on the 2018 Deputy Chairman election; that was not verified in this pass.
• It does not characterise the paper’s editorial stance or its coverage of UAE domestic politics, which this research pass did not assess.
• It does not cover the paper’s magazines, radio stations, or classifieds businesses in detail; they are outside this pass.

Sources

• Arabian Business — Al Nisr Publishing to stop printing Gulf News on weekends (tier2; founding, takeover, relaunch, Berliner, circulation, weekend print end)
• The National — Is the newspaper making its last stand in the UAE? (tier1; largest English daily, 2008–2009 circulation)
• Arab News — Gulf News to charge for digital content (tier1; first UAE paywall, pricing, page views and unique visitors)
• Arab News — ‘No toll gates in our lanes’: UAE’s Khaleej Times trolls Gulf News after paywall announcement (tier1; Khaleej Times rivalry, expatriate readership, subscription distinction)
• South Asia Monitor — Indian victims of Dubai warehouse blaze move Kerala HC (tier2; Gulf News reporting on Kerala expatriates)
• Hindustan Times — Indian man who helped countless people land UAE jobs returns after 51 years, greeted by roaring busload of people (tier1; Hindustan Times citing a Gulf News report)
• Gulf News — History of Gulf News (first-party; supporting detail only)