Fox unit to open regional HQ in Abu Dhabi

Fox International Channels announced it will open regional headquarters for three of its operations in the UAE capital on the eve of the first Abu Dhabi Media Summit.

The subsidiary of News Corporation has partnered with twofour54, a project led by the Abu Dhabi government, a statement released on Monday said.

FIC will move some of its playout and operations from Hong Kong to Abu Dhabi, as well as setting up a regional base for .FOX the firm’s online ad network business.

Abu Dhabi will also be the location for FIC’s documentary production arm NHNZ that will partner with twofour54 to produce high end HD and 3D documentaries for broadcast on television, cinema and museums, the statement said.

Tony Orsten, twofour54 CEO, said: “The world’s media industry is increasingly focusing on the MENA region. This announcement reinforces our vision, which is to establish Abu Dhabi as a regional centre of excellence for the Arabic media industry, and adds to the media ecosystem we have created.”

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Media Summit has some big industry names set to attend including News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, Eric Schmidt, Google chief executive, as well as Etisalat’s Mohammed Omran and Sunil Bharti Mittal of India's Bharti Enterprises.

FOX International Channels (FIC) is News Corporation’s international multi-media business.

The setting up of its NHNZ office in Abu Dhabi follows the launch of National Geographic Abu Dhabi, a factual entertainment free to air channel for the region, with the entire programming dubbed in Arabic.