With central offices at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Washington, D.C., and studios in Cairo and Abu Dhabi, the newly launched Asharq News provides 24/7 news coverage across the Arab world and beyond with a focus on regional and global economic affairs.

Astucemedia says it worked between its offices in Dubai, Montreal, and Europe to create a sophisticated brand identity for Asharq News, including sonic branding. The graphics span augmented reality, touchscreen, and videowall (including floor) as well as the atrium inside the DIFC facility across four floors with 26 layers comprising 1,527 LED tiles.

Alongside financial graphics, Astucemedia’s solutions for Asharq News cover finance, weather, sports, social media, and other news streams as well as standard graphics elements, such as channel ident, menu boards, and tickers. In addition, the broadcast technology provider delivered a world conflict scenario application, where the presenter can use the touchscreen and illustrate the scenario in the studio via augmented reality. The data is consolidated into the central platform and shared to the Vizrt system.

Steven Cheak, director of brand, creative and digital at Asharq News, said, “In a competitive market, it was important that Asharq News was able to stand out and differentiate itself. Design was a big part of that objective when we embarked on this project, and Astucemedia was integral to the setup of Asharq News. Before the pandemic, their design and support staff worked tirelessly on site and remotely to prepare for the launch. From design and integration of show templates, augmented reality, and the ticker to the animation of the production elements of some shows, their attention to detail and continuous support played an instrumental role in the successful launch of Asharq News.”

Alexandre Leclerc, CEO of Astucemedia, added, “The channel’s partnership with Bloomberg is critical to this project; we had to be mindful of creating a new brand identity for Asharq News that can easily adapt to the business need of displaying the Bloomberg data and content.”

Dr. Nabeel Al-Khatib, general manager of Asharq News, added, “For the first time in the region, Asharq News has implemented complete IP technology on an ST 2110 TV broadcast system scale."