Sky News Arabia Launches in the UK

Sky News Arabia – the Abu Dhabi-based 24-hour Arabic-language news channel – is now available to UK viewers on Sky channel 855.

The channel, in which BSkyB has a 50 per cent stake together with the Abu Dhabi Media Investment Company, was launched in May 2012.

“The availability of Sky News Arabia on the Sky platform marks an important step in reaching one of the Arab world’s most important overseas communities,” said Nart Bouran, Head of Sky News Arabia.

“When we launched nearly a year ago, our priority was to target our core markets in the Middle East and North Africa, which we have done successfully. We have taken a number of key steps to expand our distribution since then – making our feed available on Hotbird for European audiences for example – and the UK is one more milestone as we continue to find new ways to reach Arabic speakers wherever they may be.”

John Ryley, Head of Sky News (UK), added: “Launching on the Sky platform is a significant step for Sky News Arabia. It brings Arabic speaking viewers in the UK a fresh independent perspective on Arabic news and builds on Sky News’ strong reputation for impartial and innovative coverage.”