Sky News Arabia

Sky News Arabia
Launched 6 May 2012
Owned by Sky plc (50%)
Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (50%)
Picture format 576i 16:9 (SDTV)
1080i 16:9 (HDTV)
Slogan أفق جديد (New Horizon)
Language Arabic
Headquarters Abu Dhabi
Sister channel(s) Sky News
Website www.skynewsarabia.com
Availability
Satellite
Nilesat 201 (7°W) 11977 - V - 27500 - 5/6
(HD and SD)
Arabsat Badr-4 (26°E) 11996 - H - 27500 - 3/4
OSN (Middle East
& North Africa)		 Channel 450 (HD)
Channel 451 (SD)
Sky Channel 840
Astra 2E (28.2°E) 12226 - H - 27500 - 5/6
Hot Bird (13°C) 11747 - H - 27500 - 3/4
IPTV
Etisalat eLife Channel 234
du Channel 16
Streaming media
Sky News Arabia Watch live (HD)
Livestation Watch live

Sky News Arabia (Arabic: سكاي نيوز عربية‎ Skāy Niyūz ʻArabīyah) is an Arabic news and current affairs channel broadcast mainly in the Middle East and North Africa. It is a joint venture between UK-based Sky plc and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC), owned by Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi Emirate ruling family. The channel uses Sky plc's Sky News brand and was launched on 6 May 2012.

The channel is based in Abu Dhabi's twofour54 media zone and has a network of bureaux across MENA, along with offices in London and Washington, DC. It also shares access to Sky News' wider international bureaux network.[1]

History

BSkyB and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan first announced a 50/50 joint venture to operate a free-to-air Arabic-language news channel on 29 November 2010.[2] Adrian Wells, head of international news at Sky News, was appointed to lead preparations to launch the channel.[1]

In February 2011, Nart Bouran was hired as Sky News Arabia's first director of news. Bouran was previously director of television at Reuters.[3] Yasser Thabet, former program director at Al Arabiya, joined Sky News Arabia as director of output in June 2011 and Nicholas Love was appointed as director of finance.[4]

Al-Waleed bin Talal, the second-largest shareholder in 21st Century Fox, which has a 39.1% stake in BSkyB, announced in September 2011 that he would launch another Arabic news channel, Alarab News Channel.[5] Alarab, which is partnering with Bloomberg Television, is expected to compete directly with Sky News Arabia, in addition to existing broadcasters Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.[6]

Operations at the network's headquarters in twofour54 media zone, Abu Dhabi, began in February 2012.[7][8] It began broadcasting on 6 May 2012.[9][10]

Broadcasting

Sky News Arabia claims a commitment to independent reporting and avoiding partisan programming.[11] A six-person editorial advisory committee exercises oversight over the network's editorial output.[11]

Sky News Arabia is broadcast to more than 50 millions households in the MENA region on satellite and cable providers, as well as over the internet and mobile apps.[12][13] It is available free-to-air on Nilesat 201, Arabsat, Hot Bird and Astra.[14][15][16]

It is available in North and South America, Canada and Australia through myTV's platform.[17] It is also available to watch on Sky channel 840 in the United Kingdom.

Facilities

Sky News Arabia's headquarters are located in Abu Dhabi's twofour54 media zone. The technical integration process at the studio was carried out from April 2011 to February 2012 in collaboration with Television Systems Limited.[18]

The facility consists of one large single studio which houses a number of permanent sets used for different programs. It also consists of a 10-meter wide video wall.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Sweney, Mark (29 November 2010). "Sky News teams up with Sheikh Mansour to launch Arabic TV channel". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  2. ↑ "Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed invests in Arabic Sky News". The National. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. ↑ Luft, Oliver (14 April 2011). "Sky News Arabia appoints Reuters man as news director". Press Gazette. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "Sky News Arabia Appoints Senior Editorial Team". Sky News Arabia. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 21 February 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Bladd, Joan (27 September 2011). "Sky News Arabia says on track for 2012 launch". Arabian Business. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  6. ↑ Ferris-Lay, Claire (21 September 2011). "Alwaleed’s new box of tricks". Arabian Business. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  7. ↑ Flanagan, Ben (9 February 2012). "Sky News Arabia ready for broadcast". The National. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  8. ↑ Flanagan, Ben (28 July 2011). "Sky News Arabia plan rolls on". The National. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  9. ↑ "Latest Arabic news channel, Sky News Arabia, begins broadcasting from UAE capital Abu Dhabi". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "United Arab Emirates profile". BBC. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  11. 1 2 Chulov, Martin (6 May 2012). "SkyB launches Sky News Arabia". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  12. ↑ Flanagan, Ben (6 May 2012). "Sky News launches in UAE". The National. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  13. ↑ Flanagan, Ben (7 May 2012). "Viewers can now reach for Sky". The National. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
  14. ↑ "Sky News Arabia set for May 6 launch". Trade Arabia. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  15. ↑ "Sky News Arabia signs up with major TV platforms". Trade Arabia. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "Sky News Arabia launches on Sky Digital". BizAsia. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  17. ↑ "Channels". myTV. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  18. 1 2 El Ajou, Nadeen (9 February 2012). "Sky News Arabia moves into its new state-of-the-art studio complex". AMEinfo. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
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