Dubai-based out-of-home media company Hills Advertising is making a major bet on Digital Out of Home. The company has been awarded new long-term advertising contracts that will see more of its static bridge banner inventory converted into digital billboards across the Emirate. The total investment volume amounts to approximately AED 971.3 million (USD 265 million).
Dubai: Hills Advertising Invests USD 265m in DooH
The contracts were announced by Mada Media, the entity responsible for organising, developing and regulating the out-of-home advertising sector in Dubai. Signed in Q1 2026, the agreements with Hills Advertising span five- to seven-year terms and mark one of the largest single DooH investments in the region to date.
From Static to Digital: Bridges Become Premium DooH Assets
The bulk of the investment will be directed toward the conversion and development of Hills Advertising’s OoH infrastructure along key traffic corridors in Dubai. At the core of the programme is the company’s extensive bridge banner network, which currently spans 94 locations across major roads, including Sheikh Zayed Road.
As part of the next rollout phase, 20 of these bridge locations will be upgraded to Digital Out of Home platforms. The digitisation follows the two digital bridge installations already in operation and signals a shift away from static formats. The digital displays will be supplied by Daktronics – but a detailed timeline has not been disclosed.
A Market Shifting Toward Data and Flexibility
OoH advertising in the UAE has long been dominated by static formats and location-based media planning. However, the scale of Hills Advertising’s investment highlights the market’s accelerating shift toward more dynamic, flexible and data-driven environments. At the same time, the Emirates’ DooH landscape has recently undergone significant consolidation, as smaller media owners struggled to generate sufficient revenues to meet contractual minimum lease obligations.
Industry estimates put the wider regional OoH market at around USD 1.7 billion, with digital formats already accounting for nearly one-third of outdoor advertising spend in the UAE. According to PwC, Dubai alone represents approximately 73 percent of the country’s OOH market, with DooH acting as the primary growth driver.
Mada Media: Regulation as Growth Enabler
For Mada Media, the new contracts are part of a broader strategy to professionalise and modernise the OoH ecosystem in Dubai. The authority emphasises long-term partnerships, infrastructure investment and digitalisation as key levers for sustainable growth.
Beyond commercial considerations, the authority positions DooH as part of a broader urban strategy that balances monetisation with aesthetics, sustainability and well-being.