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beIN Media Group acquires MIRAMAX

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Qatar-based beIN Media Group has acquired film and television company MIRAMAX. MIRAMAX will continue to invest in and co-distribute feature films, with upcoming productions including Bridget Jones’s Baby, Southside With You and television show From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series, which is now in its third season.

“We are extremely excited to have achieved this key milestone within our strategy,” says Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, beIN Media Group “MIRAMAX is a successful film and television company, providing a strong and recognisable brand, a unique library and industry expertise that complement beIN Media Group’s plans to grow across the entertainment industry and develop new content production. As part of beIN Media Group, we will support MIRAMAX in continuing to build this exciting platform. We very much look forward to working with the MIRAMAX team.”

Steve Schoch, CEO, MIRAMAX, adds “This is an exciting time in the evolution of our company and we are thrilled to be a part of beIN Media Group. MIRAMAX’s growing 2016 slate is a testament to the incredible work of the team thus far to build on the proud MIRAMAX legacy. In concert with beIN leadership, we look forward to further expanding our film and television output, broadening our distribution capabilities and fortifying our position as the premiere independent studio brand.”

Sky News Arabia to launch on Canadian cable

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Sky News Arabia will now broadcast live via Rogers Cable, a Canadian cable television service by Rogers Communications Inc. Through the new service, the channel’s audience in Canada will be able to watch a host of its programs and bulletins on various platforms through subscribing to the service online.

“After reaching out to our audiences in the United States via Sling TV, joining Rogers Cable was the next strategic step.” says Nart Bouran, CEO, Sky News Arabia. “We have always been keen to provide our followers and audience, regardless of their location, with a continuous broadcast of our unique content on various platforms. This expansion aligns with our efforts as an international media organisation to provide quality content.”

Slava Levin, Co-Founder and CEO of Ethnic Channels Group Limited, adds “As the largest distributor of multicultural television content in Canada, Ethnic Channels Group brings with it a combination of cutting edge technology and distribution expertise. We share a common vision with Sky News Arabia to showcase premium news programming content to Canadian audiences. Sky News Arabia, which has already distinguished itself by its excellent journalism, can now claim its share of Canadian viewers and become the destination channel for world class news.”

 

Cheil unveils new global identity

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Cheil Global Network is rolling out a new ‘The Network Built for Now’ identity across its entire network of agencies. Developed by London-based design consultancy johnson banks, Cheil’s new identity was designed to reflect its growth as a network of specialist agencies, embodying both the entrepreneurial spirit of its origins in Seoul and its place in the Asian tech revolution. The global positioning of Cheil as The Network Built for Now is also intended to strengthen the network’s reputation for specialism in brand communications, retail, innovation, social and design.

“We’re lucky enough to be building the first network built for now,” says Aaron Lau, President of International, Cheil Global Network. “That means we’re not encumbered by where the industry has been or sustaining hundreds of traditional offices. Instead, we can focus on what clients need in this day and age.”

Chris Chalk, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Cheil Global Network adds “The ability to create, embrace and exploit change will define success, or failure, for all brands and businesses in the future. Our business is no different and we are purpose built for change.”

CNNMoney to expand

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CNN Worldwide will expand its CNNMoney brand internationally, across both TV and digital, to provide consumers around the world with its business and financial news and analysis. With the addition of staff in London, Dubai, New Delhi and Hong Kong, CNNMoney will launch new franchises, series, features and reporting tailored directly to the regions and audiences it covers. The international expansion builds on the success of CNNMoney U.S. while utilising the power and reach of CNN International, under one banner.

Coverage from CNNMoney will span Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It will focus on global markets and the economy, business strategy, corporate leadership, global brands, business travel, lifestyle and luxury, as well as industries such as auto, energy and technology.

“By uniting our portfolio of U.S. and international business reporting under the CNNMoney brand, we now offer an even more compelling product to globally-minded consumers hungry for a smart, accessible business and financial news experience – everywhere in the everywhere in the world,” says Mike McCarthy, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CNN International.

 

The Independent to end print production

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UK-based newspaper The Independent is to cease all print production of its daily paper, as well as The Independent on Sunday, in a move towards a digital-only future. The national publication, launched in 1986, is owned by ESI Media and is due end all print copies by March, 2016. News will then be exclusively available through The Independent’s websites, www.independent.co.uk or www.i100.co.uk, which will later become www.indy100.com. This move follows the sale of The Independent’s tabloid i newspaper to Johnston Press, owner of other British regional titles including the Eastbourne Herald, The Herald Express and the Londonderry Sentinel.

 

Las Vegas-based PR firm to open in Dubai

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Las Vegas-based PR firm Digital 86 will open offices in Dubai as well as New Delhi, in order to meet demand for services in the Middle East and Asia. Founded by Alex Simon, the firm specialises in online reputation management, with a team of PR executives and technology experts who aim to improve the digital presence of high profile clients such as executives, celebrities, doctors and politicians.


 

Al Jazeera America to shut down

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Al Jazeera America, owned by Qatar-based Al Jazeera, is set to end its cable TV and digital operations by April 30, 2016, less than three years after launching. The decision comes at the same time as the channel’s parent company decided to commit to an expansion of worldwide online content into the US. Since launching in 2013, the channel has won numerous journalism awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a News Magazine, two Overseas Press Club Awards and three Gracies Awards. The channel is headquartered in New York City and has bureaus in 12 cities across the U.S.

Dubai Lynx names 2016 jury

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 The Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity has named the 56 international jurors set to judge entries from across the Middle East and North Africa region at the 10th Dubai Lynx. The panel includes; Daniel Andrade, Group Creative Director, EMEA, The Zoo, Google, EMEA; Russel Place, Managing Director, UM, UK and Nick Emery, Global CEO, Mindshare, Global and will convene to appraise over 2,000 entries and determine winners of the coveted Lynx trophies, which will be presented at an awards ceremony on March 9, 2016.

More information and the full list of jurors can be found at www.dubailynx.com

The Fashion Hub gets new look

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UAE-based fashion website The Fashion Hub (TFH) has expanded its offices into London and re-launched its digital platform with a new look. The new website will act as a virtual panel that voices the non-linear market of fashion, art and lifestyle, with a more digitalised and interactive format. Having previously worked with worldwide brands such as Harvey Nichols London, Selfridges and Canon, the digital publication will now be welcoming new contributors to the site.

“It was time to take the next step, to become more digitalised, to have richer content, it’s been for years and we knew the timing was right,” says Parisa Birgani, Founder and Editor, The Fashion Hub. “We know our readers so well, because we are both our own readers. There was such a gap in the market for something like TFH, a platform that didn’t focus on the commercial, but focused on the non-liner, and we’re both so happy to shine a light on that part of the industry, and to broaden peoples minds about it, especially in the Middle East.”

Lydia Birgani, Co-Founder, The Fashion Hub, adds “We’ve now constructed a more interactive platform which helps engage and interconnect different ideologies, regions. Opening an office in London has allowed us to target our European readers more and it’s a very exciting chapter for TFH.

Cannes Lions makes changes to 2016 awards

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The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced changes to the 2016 awards which will see the Press Lions become the Print and Publishing Lions and Digital Craft split from the Cyber and Mobile Lions. The Digital Craft Lions will celebrate the creative skills and digital craftsmanship behind content including the quality of design, the technical execution and the overall experience across all digital platforms and devices.

“The Press Lions is an award that’s been with us since 1992,” says Simon Cook, Director of Awards, Lions Festivals. “By renaming it the Print & Publishing Lions, we are evolving the category, just as the print and publishing world itself is evolving, to recognise other forms of publishing, along with best uses of press and interactive press.”

Terry Savage, Chairman, Lions Festivals, adds “The Cyber and Mobile Lions juries have told us that with more and more UX and Craft focused entries, it is necessary to have experts in this field sitting on the jury. We’ve chosen to split it out so that this specialist area can have its own dedicated jury, which will also make the hugely labour intensive Cyber Lions judging much more manageable going forward.”