The establishment of the SRMG dates back to 1963 when the first company of the group, Al Madina Printing and Publication Company, was founded. Al Madina Printing and Publication Company, was later called Saudi Printing and Packaging Company (SPPC) which was formally established in 1972.
Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz were one of the founders of the company.
Kamal Adham, former head of
Saudi intelligence, was also one of the early shareholders of the company. Next, the company was established in London in 1978 with the launch of
Asharq Al Awsat. The company was listed in the Saudi stock market,
Tadawul, on 8 April 2006 and therefore went public. Jomana R. Al-Rashid was appointed CEO of SRMG in October 2020, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Following Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Egypt in June 2022, SRMG agreed to fund the launch of the three Egyptian news channels in Cooperation with the
General Intelligence Service (GIS) owned United Media Services (UMS). In May 2021, the company was renamed from "The Saudi Research and Marketing Group" to "Saudi Research and Media Group". == Major shareholders ==