CNN expands global CNN Marketplace franchise to the Middle East

The program will also examine how industries and corporations are adapting at a critical time of political, economic and social change.

Launched on Sept. 18, the show offers its audience an insight into the region through exclusive interviews and on-the-ground reporting beginning with Expo 2020 Dubai, for which CNN is the official broadcaster.

As part of the new programming, CNN International will host a monthly show presented by anchor and correspondent Eleni Giokos, who is based in the UAE, alongside reporter Salma Abdelaziz and international correspondent Jomana Karadsheh. It will also include a dedicated new digital section on CNN Business and CNN Arabic.

“Audiences around the globe are eager to find out more about how businesses and countries are applying innovation and seeing economic growth as the world looks beyond the pandemic,” said Ellana Lee, senior vice president, CNN International.

The latest cross-platform programming is part of a continued global expansion of CNN’s business coverage. This also comprises dedicated cross-platform programming for Africa, Asia and Europe. The major focus areas for the new program are technology, sustainability, automotive and mobility, health and medicine, energy, and e-commerce.

“CNN Marketplace Middle East kicks off by looking at how economies and companies in the Middle East are using technological advances and innovation to emerge stronger from the pandemic,” Lee said.

“The Middle East has a unique story to tell as it applies new technologies, spearheads many areas of transformation and undergoes economic diversification. Through CNN Marketplace Middle East, CNN will uncover and tell these stories to inform our audiences of the latest trends and developments from right across the region in a way that no other news network can,” she said.

This first episode explores tech transformation in Saudi Arabia, analyzing the new retail revolution across the region for ultra-fast grocery deliveries, being driven by rapidly expanding companies.

In the coming months, the show will explore topics such as how sustainability is informing business in the region, as policy-makers and the private sector focus on the climate emergency and future of the planet during November’s COP26 summit. It will also examine the growing sports business and events sector in the Middle East.