Two giants of the financial world have joined forces to launch an Arabic news TV station with a focus on business.
The Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed bin Talal has partnered with the US financial data company Bloomberg to produce Alarab, a 24-hour station set for launch next year.
Bloomberg will provide five hours of business news per day for the new channel, which will have "an emphasis on freedom of speech", said Andrew Lack, the chief executive of Bloomberg's multimedia group.
Mr Lack said editorial independence was a prerequisite for Bloomberg to enter the deal.
"This channel is going to come with an independent spirit and an independent view that we at Bloomberg support very strongly," Mr Lack said. "We wouldn't have been engaged in this effort if in fact the effort wasn't driven by this fair, independent and balanced approach."
Prince Al Waleed announced the launch of the news channel last year. Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi Arabian journalist, will be its manager.
Alarab says it will focus on political, social and economic issues in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.
Manama, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Beirut are under consideration for a location for Alarab's headquarters and main broadcast centre.
The Alarab news channel is privately owned by Prince Al Waleed, and independent from the Prince's ventures Kingdom Holding and the Rotana Group.
Mr Lack said the format of the content provided by Bloomberg had yet to be decided. He declined to specify the value of the deal but said the channel would seek revenue from advertising and distribution.
"It's a serious commitment on both our part and Prince Al Waleed's part," he said.
Alarab will vie for audience share with the two mainstream Arabic news stations, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. It will also compete with the existing Arabic business station CNBC Arabia.
The TV news market is set to become even more crowded with the planned launch of Sky News Arabia, which is to be broadcast from Abu Dhabi early next year.
Commentators said that competing in the TV news environment would be a costly undertaking for the Al Waleed venture.
"Alarab will require substantial investment, and it will be going up against rivals such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya that are established and have deep pockets," said Matthew Reed, an analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.
"The planned launch of Alarab is a bold move. It's timely in that there is clearly a great deal of interest right now in news about the Arab world, as a result of the Arab Spring and developments since," he added.
Elie Aoun, the managing director for the Middle East and North Africa region at Ipsos MediaCT, which tracks advertising spending in the region, said the market was already well served for business news.
"The market is already crowded, but TV is still the main source of information for business news," he said.
Sami Raffoul, the general manager of the Pan Arab Research Centre, agreed. "The demand already exists for business news, but it is already captured by the likes of Al Arabiya," he said.
Mr Lack said that Bloomberg was accustomed to operating in competitive markets.
"We're used to a crowd. You've always got four or five competitors. That comes with the territory," he said.
Bloomberg currently has about 100 staff in the Middle East. "As this story develops, we may be adding more people," Mr Lack said.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Brief scores:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
RESULT
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
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SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Scoreline
Liverpool 4
Oxlade-Chamberlain 9', Firmino 59', Mane 61', Salah 68'
Manchester City 3
Sane 40', Bernardo Silva 84', Gundogan 90' 1