The 24/7 Arabic news service will include a special business component titled “Asharq Business with Bloomberg”, for which Asharq News owner The Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG) has collaborated with Bloomberg Media.
Asharq News will officially begin broadcasting today from its massive 6000sqm facility at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The news channel, which has been in the making for more than a year, under General Manager Dr. Nabeel Al-Khatib, former Al Arabiya executive, boasts a full end-to-end IP facility based on the SMPTE 2110 standard. The channel will also be the first to broadcast one of its segments from its Riyadh headquarters in Saudi Media City today.
The DIFC facility has two large news studios as well as a virtual studio, and currently employs more than 460 people at its Dubai centre, with more than 60% percent of its workforce being below the age of 35.
“There are 18 news channels here and all of them target 40+ males,” Dr. Al-Khatib told BroadcastPro ME.
“We hope to reach out to not just males but young adults and female audiences too through our news. This is why we have invested heavily in young talent and have a big social media team. The new generation influences the decisions in many of the countries in the region today and it is important to speak and engage with them,” he added.
The 24/7 Arabic news service, owned and operated by Saudi Research and Marketing Group, will be delivered through a dedicated television channel, as well as multiple digital platforms. Besides offering continuous insights into the people, events, organisations and ideas that impact the MENA region and international markets, it also has an exclusive content agreement with Bloomberg Media, that will power one of its key components titled “Asharq Business with Bloomberg”. The latter will draw on Bloomberg’s comprehensive coverage from more than 2,700 journalists and analysts globally.
“Asharq Business with Bloomberg” promises to become the premier Arabic-language business news provider, using multiple platforms to reach business leaders, as well as a younger generation that understands the importance of global economic, financial and corporate information. The Asharq Business television and digital teams will have access to Bloomberg’s extensive financial and economic content, analysis and market data, curating translated stories from Bloomberg for its platforms.
Asharq News is headquartered in Riyadh, with central offices in the Dubai International Financial Centre, UAE, and Washington D.C., and has major hubs and studios in Cairo and Abu Dhabi. It also has regional offices and correspondents across key Arab countries and in global capitals, in addition to access to the content produced by hundreds of reporters from Bloomberg’s network around the world.
