ABU DHABI, Apr 03, 2012 (AFP) - Sky News Arabia, a 24-hour Arabic language news channel based in Abu Dhabi, is to go on air on May 6, following in the footsteps of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, its management announced on Tuesday.
"Our aim has been to create an impartial and independent breaking news channel for the Arab world across multiple platforms," Nart Bouran, the channel's head, said in a statement announcing the launch date.
Sky News Arabia is a joint venture between British Sky Broadcasting, BSkyB, and Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corp, a private firm owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, a brother of the United Arab Emirates president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahayan.
"Sky News Arabia will offer the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region a fresh approach to television news with an independent editorial mandate at the heart of everything we do," Bouran said.
Qatar's Al-Jazeera and Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai, are prominent in Arabic-language television news. Their competitors include BBC Arabic, France 24, Iran's Al-Alam and Russia Today channels.
bur-ak/hc
