Arabic edition of Sky News to air from Abu Dhabi
New free-to-air channel to launch mid 2012
UAE’s Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC) and Britain’s British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) announced Monday the imminent launch of the Arabic edition of Sky News channel from the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi.
ADMIC and BSkyB signed Monday a partnership agreement to launch the Arabic speaking edition of the British news broadcaster Sky News, which will be equally owned by both partners.
The new free-to-air channel is scheduled to start broadcasting from Abu Dhabi by mid- 2012 and will be available on several satellites for viewers across the Middle East and North Africa, according to statement made by the two partners.
The new 24-hour Arabic channel will follow the model of Sky News, which gained international fame for its independence and objectivity as well as its wide coverage of the latest news from different parts of the world, said ADMIC Chairman Dr. Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber.
According to Jaber, the channel will offer full coverage of regional and international news and will employ innovative techniques that will focus on the use of multimedia.
The news offered by the channel will also be available online and a mobile service will be launched to send news updates to subscribed users.
Jaber added that the channel, website, and mobile service will be supervised by more than 180 multimedia journalists from different parts of the world and who will be supported by an expert technical and administrative team.
Adrian Wells, former head of Sky News international news operation, will supervise the foundation of the new channel in coordination with ADMIC, and a permanent director of news will be appointed by the first quarter of 2011.
The Arabic Sky News service will be launched from Abu Dhabi's twofour54 media zone and will be supported by an extensive network of news bureaus all over the Middle East and North Africa and in London and Washington, D.C. It will also have access to all Sky News international news bureaus.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).