Ericsson will provide playout services in the Middle EastEricsson to establish its local base in Abu Dhabi to serve the Middle East region and beyond
Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) has strengthened its partnership with twofour54, the commercial arm of the Media Zone Authority - Abu Dhabi, through the acquisition of its current playout business, initially providing playout services for nine different channels.
The agreement, which comes as part of a long-term partnership, recognizes the important role of the private sector in supporting twofour54 in building Abu Dhabis media industry ecosystem. For Ericsson, the acquisition provides an ideal springboard for its expansion into the region from its base in Abu Dhabi.
As part of this partnership, Ericsson will establish a media hub in Abu Dhabi to serve clients across the Middle East region and beyond. The hub will provide playout services and act as the local base to eventually leverage Ericssons leading portfolio of services in content management, over-the-top (OTT), content discovery, metadata, creative and access services.
Noura Al Kaabi, CEO of twofour54, says: twofour54 is committed to the growth of the media industry across the MENA region. This long-term partnership with Ericsson is another step towards achieving our goal of being the regions leading developer of a sustainable, private sector led media industry.
Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast and Media Services at Ericsson, says: The Middle East is an exciting, high-growth region with a strong local and international broadcaster base. As the TV industry is witnessing a massive transformation in light of the convergence between IT, media and telecoms, Ericsson is helping broadcasters to overcome the challenges of this transformation and the fierce competition that exists in the rapidly changing TV market. The partnership with twofour54 is an important milestone in our ambition to provide industry-leading media services in this dynamic region.
Ericsson will work closely with twofour54 to develop media services in Abu Dhabi and nurture the development of media professionals in the region. Young Emirati nationals will be encouraged to undertake internships, participate in training courses and will also have access to employment opportunities. This will also give them exposure to the media industrys fast growing private sector.
Ericsson has a significant heritage in the global TV and media market and pioneered the video compression technologies that are driving the worldwide digitalization of TV and enabling new viewing experiences such as HDTV, TV Anywhere and UHDTV. Ericssons strategy in TV and media is to help content owners, broadcasters and TV service providers evolve to meet consumer demand for video experiences on any device, anytime, anywhere.
NOTES TO EDITORS
About twofour54
twofour54, the commercial arm of the Media Zone Authority-Abu Dhabi, is a leading media and entertainment hub in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, aiming to nurture the development of creative industries in the region through supporting talent, content development, and young entrepreneurs.
As part of its mission to help Arabs realise their ambitions across diverse media platforms, twofour54 provides financial support, a creativity lab that engages members in creative projects, as well as training and networking opportunities through tadreeb, and world-class production facilities through intaj. All of these services are supported by its end-to-end business services provider, tawasol.
A key contributor to the UAEs economic growth and diversity, twofour54s Abu Dhabi campus is home to more than 300 local, regional and international media and creative companies including Ubisoft, Cartoon Network, Sky News Arabia, CNN, Flash Entertainment, Sports 360, Reed Exhibitions, Charisma, Tahadi and Jawaker.
twofour54 powers the Abu Dhabi Film Festival and Abu Dhabi Media Summit annually to drive the development of a vibrant film and entertainment industry. The Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) is also part of twofour54 and offers international projects incentives such as a 30 per cent cash-back rebate on their first production.
For more information, visit: www.twofour54.com
About Ericsson
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Ericsson is the driving force behind the Networked Society - a world leader in communications technology and services. Our long-term relationships with every major telecom operator in the world allow people, businesses and societies to fulfill their potential and create a more sustainable future.
Our services, software and infrastructure - especially in mobility, broadband and the cloud - are enabling the telecom industry and other sectors to do better business, increase efficiency, improve the user experience and capture new opportunities.
With more than 110,000 professionals and customers in 180 countries, we combine global scale with technology and services leadership. We support networks that connect more than 2.5 billion subscribers. Forty percent of the worlds mobile traffic is carried over Ericsson networks. And our investments in research and development ensure that our solutions - and our customers - stay in front.
Founded in 1876, Ericsson has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. Net sales in 2013 were SEK 227.4 billion (USD 34.9 billion). Ericsson is listed on NASDAQ OMX stock exchange in Stockholm and the NASDAQ in New York.
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