CNBC has announced at the Bahrain Grand Prix that it will create a regional editorial hub in Bahrain to cover the Middle East. The facility is expected to be operational in the second quarter of the year.
The hub will coordinate and produce business and financial newsgathering from the Middle East, with a studio and production facility linked to CNBC’s global network. CNBC is in the process of recruiting an on-air presenter, reporters and production staff in the region.
The hub will contribute to CNBC’s pan-regional programme Capital Connection, which will become tri-anchored live from London, Bahrain and Singapore, four days a week. The new programme’s launch date will be announced in due course.
CNBC’s half-hour monthly programme Gateway to the Middle East, will also be produced from Bahrain. Since 2007 the show has spoken with the leading voices from the region, giving viewers insight into business trends and investment opportunities.
Mick Buckley, MD EMEA at CNBC said in a statement, “Bahrain offers the ideal location for CNBC’s hub, as the country’s infrastructure and location enables us to effectively cover the news from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other major centres in the region. We are now well positioned, working with CNBC Arabiya our local-language affiliate channel based in Dubai, to tell the Middle East’s business story to regional and global viewers in Arabic and in English.”
