The story of Rotana, now one of the most important media conglomerates in the Arab world, speaks to some of the seismic shifts re-shaping the region today. Founded in 1987 as a record label, Rotana came to prominence when it was acquired by business tycoon Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, nicknamed "The Saudi Warren Buffet," in 2003.

After the acquisition by Al-Waleed, Rotana launched an MTV-style music video satellite TV station. While several such stations existed before Rotana's, none of them functioned as a vertically integrated media conglomerate - recording, marketing, promoting, producing and broadcasting videos for their own stars. Rotana signed the lion's share of the Arab world's most popular pop stars (primarily from Egypt and Lebanon). This monopoly has proven to be an unbeatable business model, and several of Rotana's competitors have faded into also-rans. While the company is Saudi-owned, it has offices and studios in Egypt, Lebanon and the U.A.E.

In the Arab world, satellite TV is much more important than it is in the U.S. Cable TV is virtually nonexistent, so the introduction of satellite TV was the first opportunity for Arabs to escape the dull, low-budget productions of government-run broadcasters. Even those without the means to buy a satellite dish enjoy the programming in cafes. Outside the month of Ramadan, when mini-series dramas tend to dominate, cafe televisions are playing either Al Jazeera-style news shows or music videos.

Rotana's media empire now includes magazines, radio stations, movie production and seven satellite TV channels. Its stations also feature populist religious programming, beloved movies from the golden age of Egyptian cinema and light classical music of yesteryear. Now many of the Arab world's biggest pop stars are on Rotana's talent roster, signed to "360" deals like Robbie Williams (EMI) and Madonna (Live Nation), which use recordings as promotional tools (rather than as profit generators) to support lucrative (and non-pirateable) revenue streams, such as concerts and product endorsements.

So even as Hollywood tries to woo the Bollywood audience and News Corp. focuses its efforts on the potential of 200 million-plus Arabic language viewers, a profound geo-cultural shift in the media environment of the region is underway. Egypt, once the heart of the Arab's world mass media, has faded. Now the Gulf is the home to most of the Arab world's biggest players. And these media powerhouses, fueled by petro-dollars, have allowed the Gulf states to become increasingly the cultural and geo-political leaders of today's Arab world.