Sky News Arabia introduces enhanced programming

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Sky News Arabia is introducing enhanced programming, which includes additional top of the hour news slots and new interactive shows.

As part of the news component, Sky News Arabia has launched three additional top of the hour news bulletins at 4pm, 8pm and 10pm. Addressing highlights of the day, the bulletins invite experts to the studio to analyse leading global events to compliment the in-depth reporting of Sky News’ journalists. A business bulletin discussing diverse economic issues is also to be broadcast daily at 5.35pm. Furthermore, a new weekly business show will soon be introduced hosting high profile industry personalities and pioneers.

For sports lovers, Sky News Arabia has expanded its daily sports bulletin that follows the 7pm news broadcast in order to cover more sports related news. This is in addition to a weekly sports talk show that is set to launch in the near future.

Sky News Arabia has also launched a new show entitled ‘Min Al Riyadh’. Highlighting events related to the region at large, particularly Saudi Arabia, the show is anchored by Saudi television host Hamad Al Mahmoud. Additionally, new episodes of the weekly special report show ‘An Qurb’ will be aired every Friday with a focus on field journalism to provide viewers with an opportunity to watch events unfold up close. Finally, a series of hard-hitting investigative documentaries are also in production. To be aired in the coming months, the documentaries will focus on major events that concern the region, providing in-depth and behind the scenes coverage that has not been aired previously.

“We are delighted to roll out our new programming as the channel gears up to complete its third anniversary,” says Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia. “Building on the success gained to date, the new shows and news bulletins leverage latest technologies in the news business to stay at the forefront of addressing Arab public opinion on issues that truly concern our people. These efforts are part of a vision to position Sky News Arabia as a frontrunner in the television and digital space.”

MEConstructionNews.com launched

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MEConstructionNews.com, a portal to serve the Middle East’s expanding construction industry has been launched in Dubai. The venture comes about as an exclusive poll carried out by CPI Media Group revealed that 45 percent of regional professionals in the field prefer to read news online. MEConstructionNews.com will feature daily updates about the sector from a staff of journalists specialising in key topics, including consultancy, machinery and sustainability.

The platform is part of CPI Media Group, which publishes leading magazines including Big Project and Construction Machinery Middle East. Writers and editors from all titles, as well as the group’s international staff – in locations such as the UK and Germany – will be contributing regularly to the website.

“The MiddleEast’s construction industry is growing, with dozens of mega-projects underway and a resurgence in key markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” says Raz Islam, Publishing Director, CPI Media Group. “With more opportunities out there than ever, MEConstructionNews.com is the region’s key news service for professionals looking for a spot-on industry insight.”

The portal additionally offers targeted advertising opportunities in business areas, ranging from architecture to infrastructure and building materials to business information modelling.

Reach Media launches new title for Emiratis

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Reach Media, the publishers of bi-monthly magazine Global Citizen, has launched a new luxury title for the domestic market entitled Emirati Citizen. The first of its kind, the bi-monthly newspaper features only Emiratis and is designed with a dual language format in English and Arabic.

“We mistakenly think that Emiratis know everything about each other because it’s such a small community, when that simply isn’t the case,” says Armand Peponnet, CEO of Reach Media and Publisher of Emirati Citizen. “There is demand for a title with high-quality journalism that will showcase the achievements of Emirati citizens to Emirati citizens, the nationals who have shaped one of the fastest growing economy’s in the world; the entrepreneurs, philanthropists, artists, visionaries and social businesses to their peers and the rest of the world.”

The first issue of Emirati Citizen was distributed in January as a supplement with its sister title, Global Citizen. Future issues will be stand-alone and can be found in all first class lounges in the UAE, financial district banks, law firms and government offices, all villas on the Palm Jumeirah, royal palaces, fine dining restaurants and selected cafés across Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Bloomberg Business goes live

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Bloomberg has today launched its new online portal Bloomberg Business. A culmination of content from Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Graphics and new digital content, the site targets a global audience and aims to deliver smart analysis, deep context and thoughtful reporting.

According to the official post by Bloomberg, Bloomberg Business will offer expanded focus on specific coverage areas such as markets, technology and luxury, in addition to data journalism, education and original digital video.

For further details, visit www.bloomberg.com  Read more

Newsweek to launch Middle East edition

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Newsweek LLC has signed an exclusive licensing partnership with ARY Digital Network – an Urdu language television network – to publish Newsweek Middle East, a localised newsweekly magazine that will be available in both English and Arabic. The launch of Newsweek Middle East will mark the eighth international edition of the publication, which is currently distributed across Japan, South Korea, Latin America, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia and the UK.

“Newsweek represents high quality journalism and there is a global demand for that,” says Etienne Uzac, Co-Founder and CEO, IBT Media, parent company of Newsweek LLC. “We are thrilled to partner with ARY Digital Network to launch Newsweek Middle East and continue to build the Newsweek brand in the Middle East.”

This partnership marks the ARY Digital Network’s entry into print media. Empirical Media, which pursues and facilitates foreign license partnerships to publish Newsweek in targeted markets, served as an advisor in the formation of Newsweek Middle East.

Salman Iqbal, Founder and CEO of ARY Digital Network adds, “I am very pleased to announce this long-term partnership with IBT Media and the launch of Newsweek Middle East. Newsweek Middle East will be published in English and Arabic with region-specific content, offering award-winning reporting and commentary from some of the top writers in the Middle East and the world.”

The first issues of Newsweek Middle East will be available in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain. The English version is due to launch by June 2015, followed by the Arabic version.

Brazen launches in Dubai

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Leading UK PR & content marketing company, Brazen, has opened its first global office in Dubai Media City and is now operating across the UK and UAE. Established in 2001, the multi award-winning agency, based in Manchester, offers brands four core areas of expertise – public relations, social media, digital engagement and live events. Brazen’s UAE operation will be headed by Managing Director Louise Jacobson.

“We are excited to be in the UAE to provide a fresh, different and unique approach to communications in the region,” says Louise Jacobson. “We may be the new kids on the block, but we bring a wealth of cutting edge techniques and expertise to the region and leave no stone unturned when it comes to strategic and creative solutions, and we have a proven track record of success. The UAE and Manchester are both places of innovation and vision, and for us there was no question that our first office needed to be here. It’s truly an exciting time for Dubai in particular and we feel privileged to be a part of it. We already have a few opportunities in the pipeline and can’t wait to get started.”

Nina Webb, CEO of Brazen Global adds, “For more than 13 years, Brazen has been home to big and beautiful ideas that make our clients famous. We consistently go the extra mile and our results, awards and international clients, some of which we’ve had for over ten years, speak for themselves. Dubai is rightly considered to be a leading commercial hub with a state-of-the-art infrastructure and a world-class business environment, and is a huge business opportunity for Brazen. We’ve done our homework and we’re confident that our famous brand of PR & content marketing will be as successful in the UAE as it has been in the UK.”

104.8 Channel 4 FM launches new breakfast show

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The Channel 4 Radio Network has today launched a new breakfast show – ‘Mornings with Marwan & Eve.’ Scheduled every weekday morning from 6-10am on 104.8 Channel 4 FM, the breakfast show is co-hosted by UAE-based media personality Marwan Al Awadi, also known as ‘DJ Bliss’, and resident Channel 4 radio presenter Eve Jaso, who has been hosting the breakfast show for the last 12 months.

“I’ve searched every corner of the globe for the right person to take the reins of this show, but only after taking a step back, and re-reading my own mission statement of, ‘building a show specifically for the UAE’ did it dawn on me that the answer to achieving that was right here,” says Tom Ferguson, Programme Director, Channel 4 Radio Network. “If you’re looking for a more real and relatable conversation in the morning, I’m confident ‘Mornings with Marwan & Eve‘ is exactly what you’ve been waiting for. It’s going to be full of energy, cheeky (but not childish) and home to the biggest prizes and the most hit music.”

 

Noor Bank launches brand campaign for 2015

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Noor Bank has launched a new month-long television commercial (TVC), starting January 2015, as part of a major brand-building initiative to coincide with the bank’s seventh anniversary celebrations.

The 30-second TVC targets investors and customers travelling to and within high footfall areas in Dubai. The brand film is set to air in-flight across 14,000 Emirates Airlines flights, as well as over 60 prominent screens at Terminals 1 and 3 of Dubai International Airport and across two giant screens on Dubai Mall’s walkways throughout January. In addition, it will play on a loop across Noor Bank’s ATM and CCDM displays in the city, the Noor Bank website and Noor Bank’s social media pages.

“The launch of the television commercial enables us to increase our brand visibility to a large cross-section of the Emirates’ population, including prospective investors and customers,” says Hussain Al Qemzi, CEO, Noor Bank. “As we mark our anniversary month, this brand film provides Noor Bank a flying start to consolidate the previous year’s accomplishments and rise to achieve greater success in 2015.”

In 2014, the Dubai-headquartered sharia-compliant bank underwent a major rebranding campaign that witnessed a transformation from Noor Islamic Bank to Noor Bank. The change was inspired by the rethinking of a number of internal touch-points, such as Noor Bank’s branches, websites and forms.

Havas Media launches LuxHub

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Havas Media Group has launched LuxHub, a global consulting division that will deliver media communications and marketing support for global luxury brands. Headquartered in Milan, the division will also launch across the Group’s established centres in London, Paris, Dubai and New York, with further expansion plans in Shanghai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Moscow later this year. Overseeing the strategic expansion for LuxHub is Isabelle Harvie-Watt, who has led plans for investment in a luxury division since her arrival as CEO Havas Media Group Italy in 2011.

“Luxury brands realise that they need to change the way they communicate,” says Isabelle. “Digital transformation is no longer an option. Growing online distribution and strong content strategies are the new norm. LuxHub is a great step forward to further closing the gap in language between agencies and luxury clients and the way luxury audiences are evolving.”

Dominique Delport, Global Managing Director of Havas Media Group adds, “Offering our clients the ability to connect to the luxury sector in a meaningful way has always been part of our strategy and I am delighted that we are now able to deliver this specialist consulting service to our clients on a global basis. The credibility we already have in this area, coupled with strong leadership from Isabelle to drive specialist teams in all the key markets, means we can provide new insights and innovative strategies both for luxury brands and brands who want to interact with the luxury audience.”

Isabelle Harvie-Watt and the LuxHub UK team, led by Tammy Smulder – who joins the team as Global Executive Director – will deliver their first study on luxury brands later this month. The project uses data from 1,000 people representing the top 10 percent of income earners in China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, US, UAE and UK.

Tamara Clarke partners with Intel

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Abu Dhabi-based tech blogger Tamara Clarke has partnered with Intel to launch Appisodes – a bi-weekly column that features some of the UAE’s hottest app developers. A former software development professional, Tamara brings a range of expertise to the partnership as the blogger and social media strategist behind Middle East lifestyle and technology blog, The Global Gazette. Published on the IQ website by Intel – www.iq.intel.co.ae/ – Appisodes will explore technology culture, news, trend, innovations and the people behind them, with focus on highlighting local talent, as well as Intel’s dedication to supporting technology in the region.