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A new Arabic-language version of Sky News will be launched across the Middle East next month.
In November 2010, Sky agreed a deal with a private investment firm to launch a new channel offering ‘independent, impartial and innovative’ news coverage across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Under a joint venture agreement with Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp (ADMIC), Sky News Arabia will launch as a 24-hour rolling news channel on May 6.
Based in Abu Dhabi, the channel will bring ‘a new horizon’ for news reporting across the Arab world, said Sky. It will be available in high definition on the OSN pay-TV platform.
At a launch event in Abu Dhabi, Sky News Arabia head Nart Bouran said: “Sky News Arabia will offer the MENA region a fresh approach to television news with an independent editorial mandate at the heart of everything we do.
“The Sky News Arabia idea was born more than two years ago. Our aim has been to create an impartial and independent breaking news channel for the Arab world across multiple platforms.
“It has been a huge collaborative team effort resulting in the most technically-advanced news operation in the region. We have nearly 400 of the best journalists, reporters, presenters, producers and broadcast technicians working together to create an unparalleled news channel.”
The channel will have a 16-strong presenter team drawn from across the MENA region, each providing their own experience and personality to create the broadest coverage possible across live news, it says.
