CNN Debuts High-Tech Middle East Hub in Abu Dhabi

CNN on Monday went live from a new state-of-the-art broadcasting facility in Abu Dhabi being touted as a new chapter in the network’s commitment to the Middle East. 

The new high-tech CNN bureau, with a 10-million-pixel video wall and a suite of fully robotic HD cameras, is located on Abu Dhabi’s artificial Yas Island in the new Yas Creative Hub established to lure media industries to Abu Dhabi by twofour54, the government entity which is implementing the UAE’s capital city’s media and entertainment industry effort.

The new CNN hub, which also includes four editing suites and a modern open-plan newsroom, increases the scale and scope of its UAE operation boosting Abu Dhabi’s role as “one of the network’s key international production hubs, alongside Atlanta, New York, London, and Hong Kong,” CNN said in a statement.

Since 2009, when the network first opened its bureau in the Emirate, Abu Dhabi has become increasingly important for CNN globally. In 2014 it became the base for “Connect the World with Becky Anderson” and is now also home to some of CNN’s best-known feature news programs, including “Decoded,” and “Marketplace Middle East,” as well as CNN Digital properties, such as the network’s “Meanwhile in the Middle East newsletter.”

The new Abu Dhabi bureau marks the latest investment in technology and editorial production for CNN in recent years. The network began broadcasting from its new studios in New York in 2019, followed by its high-tech facilities in London in 2020. CNN will soon be broadcasting from brand new studios in Atlanta, according to the statement.

“CNN Abu Dhabi is a vital part of our global news gathering and programming operation. This new investment underscores that importance, and we are excited to share what it will bring to our audiences around the world,” said Mike McCarthy, EVP and general manager CNN International.

“This new facility really supercharges our operation in Abu Dhabi,” underlined Becky Anderson, who is anchor and managing editor at CNN Abu Dhabi. “Everything we have built here enhances our ability to tell stories from this region and beyond, from the state-of-the-art studio and production facilities, through to the workspace itself, which is geared towards collaborative, multi-platform content creation.” 

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