PRONEWS
ChiNESE bROadCaStER OPENS MiddlE EaSt buREau
HH Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and CCTV’s VP Sun Yusheng. Inset: Wang Tiegang.
China Central Television (CCTV) officially announced the launch of its Middle East regional centre in Dubai last month. The news bureau will serve as the Chinese state broadcaster’s regional
hub, and CCTV correspondents stationed in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon will report to the Dubai office. This centre will also be responsible for the region’s breaking news stories.
6 | www.broadcastprome.com | January 2011
The broadcaster has kitted out a studio at its Dubai Media City facility and will initially produce and feed news programmes on the Middle East in both Chinese and Arabic to its existing channels. The plan, however, is to eventually launch a channel in Arabic for the Middle East, stated Wang Tiegang, CCTV’s Middle East bureau chief. “Initially, we will produce a few hours of news feeds for China. We have a studio here so we hope eventually to do more regular programmes in Arabic and when we are ready, we hope to have a dedicated Middle East channel,” he stated. CCTV’s VP Sun Yusheng added that the regional bureau will facilitate “comprehensive reporting on the Middle East landscape”.
fujairah media launcheS abc TV Fujairah Media Group and Mamoth Holdings have joined hands to launch ABC TV, a freeto-air, family-oriented TV channel that features Western as well as Arabic programming. Mekki Abdulla, CEO of Fujairah Media Group claimed that the channel features “several Western productions that have not been featured in the Middle East market”. “We are targeting a diverse mix of viewers. We have an exciting selection of programmes for younger audiences in the morning while family-oriented programmes are shown in the afternoon and evening,” he stated. Hany Barakat, who heads ABC TV, added the channel’s programmes “have been developed based on extensive research of the preferences of our target audiences.” “We are confident of catering to the distinct demands of TV viewers all over the region,” he said.