UAE: Sky News Arabia hopes for a slice of audience share in a market saturated with well-established brands like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya when it launches next month

Record ID: 188944

  • Title: UAE: Sky News Arabia hopes for a slice of audience share in a market saturated with well-established brands like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya when it launches next month
  • Date: 5th April 2012
  • Summary: ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (APRIL 03, 2012) (REUTERS) SKY NEWS ARABIA PRESENTERS LINING UP ON STAGE FOR A PHOTO FEMALE PRESENTERS PRESENTERS POSING FOR PHOTO HEAD OF SKY NEWS ARABIA, NART BOURAN, APPROACHING PODIUM TO GIVE NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF SKY NEWS ARABIA NART BOURAN SAYING: We have built a network, a special news network, not only is it technologically more advanced but also we have gathered a team made up of 400 of the best journalists, producers and technical staff in the whole of the Arab world."
  • Embargoed: 20th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Arab Emirates
  • Country: United Arab Emirates
  • Topics: Business,Communications,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVAEM7NDH5I8FPI2XRRVTCSUC1BO
  • Story Text: Presenters smiled as they stood before journalists at the Abu Dhabi state-of-the art studios of the latest Arabic news channel to launch in the Middle East: Sky News Arabia.
    Presenters lined up for photographs as the head of the 24-hour news channel revealed the network's launch date.
    The Arabic language network, to broadcast under the Sky News, is set to launch on May 6 and will be competing in a crowded market dominated by well-known brands such Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.
    But Sky News Arabia's head Nart Bouran said the channel is well-equipped to take on the competition.
    "We have built a network, a special news network, not only is it technologically more advanced but also we have gathered a team made up of 400 of the best journalists, producers, technical staff in the whole of the Arab world," Bouran said addressing journalists in the studio before giving a tour of the newsroom.
    The 24-hour news channel will be British Sky Broadcasting's (BSkyB) first foreign language network, with headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The channel is a joint venture between British broadcaster BSkyB and Abu Dhabi's Investment Corp, a government owned company.
    Bouran said the channel will remain editorially independent from its financial backers.
    "For us, this an independent news channel, our board is independent, our editors are independent, we don't have any connection to any side, be it Sky News in Britain or with any other side or organisation," he said.
    The channel is expected to broadcast to 50 million households in the region against competition from established players.
    The channel's head insisted that, unlike his main rivals who are accused by some of towing a certain line, Sky News Arabia will have special measures in place to ensure they do not fall into the same trap.
    "We are an independent organisation, we are an independent company, in addition to the editorial advisory board which we have introduced which doesn't exist in other organisations, this is a sort of board of trustees in order to make sure that the lines, the editorial lines integrity and editorial line that we have chosen for ourselves as I said by the shareholders is implemented and monitored and it's to make sure that we don't go exactly into what you have described in terms of reflecting a point of view of certain person or certain organisation," he said.
    Competition will also come from another Arabic news channel being set up by Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal in Bahrain. Alarab, as the new channel is set to be called, is a collaboration between the billionaire businessman and Bloomberg.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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