CNN has unveiled new state-of-the-art broadcasting facilities at its redesigned Middle Eastern hub in Abu Dhabi.
The network has completely reconfigured its studio, which is home to CNN’s flagship current affairs programme, 'Connect the World' with Becky Anderson. The facility now features the very latest HD broadcasting equipment and a re-imagined space with reconfigured rooftop that opens up a range of new possibilities for news, programming and community initiatives.
For Becky Anderson, Managing Editor at CNN Abu Dhabi, "The overall result is a versatile, hi-tech hub that is the perfect base for our Middle Eastern operation.”
The redesigned rooftop space will also play host to a new initiative that will bring CNN even closer to the Abu Dhabi community. The coming months will see the launch of The Rooftop Sessions @ CNN, which will bring together some of the UAE’s best creative minds, artists and thought leaders to perform, discuss and engage with the CNN family.
Rani Raad, President, CNNI Commercial, said: “Since we opened this facility in 2009 we have seen Abu Dhabi grow in importance, and we have grown with it. This new investment in Abu Dhabi underlines CNN’s commitment to what has become a truly global hub for culture and business...”
Maryam Al Mheiri – Acting CEO of Media Zone Authority Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said: “We’re celebrating a partnership that’s changing the face of media in the Middle East. Since CNN established its fourth broadcast hub here in Abu Dhabi, it has shared stories of our society and culture with the entire world. Abu Dhabi has been welcomed into living rooms globally every weekday for the past six years; that’s around 5000 hours of editorial coverage, with a value in excess of US$820 million.”
The bureau will also now offer fresh opportunities for CNN’s well established internship programme, which has seen around 40 young people from Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the wider region learn new skills and receive training and mentoring from CNN. In 2015 CNN also held its first Journalism Day, which saw 50 UAE-based students from Zayed University, the American University Sharjah and the American Community School visit the bureau.
