Sky News Arabia is the new kid on the block. The news channel aims to take on the heavyweights in the MENA region such as Al Jazeera and CNN. With the channel set to celebrate its one-year anniversary in May, we talk to the Sky News Arabia’s COO, Tony Donovan, on the road ahead for the broadcaster.

VIA SATELLITE: What are the major challenges for Sky News Arabia over the next 12 months?

Donovan: The channel launched last May, so we are still in relative infancy. The challenges are primarily around establishing ourselves in terms of identity for the channel, as well as hopefully resonating with the audience. We want to build that audience and develop relationships, not only with key suppliers, but also with key advertisers and sponsors. Those issues really dominate our thinking and are the key challenges. Of course, we have an eye on our strategy beyond the start-up phase. But, that is the key challenge; we want to develop a real identity and create a really successful channel.

VIA SATELLITE: How long is the start-up phase?

Donovan: Our fiscal year runs from July to June. So, we would regard June 30th as the end of that start-up phase. It is the first full financial year of us being in existence. We have made some tweaks to the content, and we are looking to expand our distribution and footprint. I think at the mid-point of this year we will cease to use the word start-up, and become a fully-fledged channel.

VIA SATELLITE: What would you say are the major technical challenges facing Sky News Arabia right now? How is new broadcasting technology impacting your business?

Donovan: At the planning stage, we decided this was about bringing news content to people in whatever way they wanted to consume their video news. This was never just about being a TV channel. The whole design of the technical set-up has been with a clear eye on us being able to push that content as a 24 hour rolling news TV channel, but also to have the channel output screened live on our web site and to have a full range of mobile apps. We push to iPhone and iPad, Android smartphones, Nokia, and Blackberry. We have a couple of early-stage OTT deals. We are looking at ways of taking the content to the Arab speaking audience beyond the MENA region where our satellite footprints are concentrated. With that clear undertaking, we dictated the technology build in terms of content management. At the outset, we said this was going to be a 24-hour rolling news channel, which amongst Arabic news channels is unique. We don’t have documentaries or fillers in the schedule. We are also fully native HD from acquisition through to broadcast. Right there, these are the key factors dictating the technology requirements and the build. It is not just about multimedia but also multi-platform distribution, as well as the traditional demands of a 24-hour rolling news channel.

VIA SATELLITE: What are your plans in terms of producing more content in HD? Will you need more satellite capacity over the next year?

Donovan: The decision to go to HD is largely about the times we are born in. For us to launch a news channel at the stage that we did, and not build for HD would have been ridiculous. It is not the same as other news channels, which may have to decide to convert from SD to HD. It was never in doubt as far as we were concerned. Our linear distribution right now is more about local platforms. Our current SD distribution is on Nilesat, Arabsat and HotBird as well as on Qtel Mozaic TV and STC Invision. The HD distribution is through OSN, Abu Dhabi TV, Etisalat. In terms of HD, we are also distributing via satellite through Nilesat.

VIA SATELLITE: How do you view the OTT opportunity for Sky News Arabia?

Donovan: We are primarily a TV channel. We are focused on Arabic speakers in the MENA region but, to state the obvious, there is a significant number of Arabic speakers outside of the region. Are we going to put in a satellite distribution platform to create a global Arabic language channel? Not in the foreseeable future, if ever. OTT is a really interesting proposition because it might be a way to reach those people. In terms of the TV experience, OTT opens up that possibility; whether you are looking at the Arabic speaking population in the United States or across Europe and elsewhere, it is an interesting proposition. Currently, it is about building awareness and audience, but can we monetize that, and can we get reliable usage and hard audience numbers? It remains to be seen. I would not regard this as an experiment but it is something we are looking at. We are very comfortable with OTT as a means of expanding our reach and our brand awareness, and building that audience loyalty. However, in terms of what it means as a commercial proposition, the jury is still out.

VIA SATELLITE: You mentioned two OTT deals, are there any more in the pipeline?

Donovan: Yes, they are more in the pipeline, but there are only two we are committed to at this stage. The two deals are with MyTV and LiveStation.

VIA SATELLITE: What is the next phase of Sky News Arabia’s growth strategy? Where do you go after the start-up phase?

Donovan: It is about continuing to build and maintain an audience. We are looking to develop a loyalty amongst our audience. It is also about the ability to create personalities and trustworthiness amongst our presenters, which is something that needs to be done over time. It is a rolling news channel, but within a rolling news channel format, you can create programming which is what we are about to do. We are fine-tuning the schedule based on feedback from the audience. I don’t see a radical change happening, it is more about the maturity of the business and our ability to grow the audience and reflect that in our advertising revenues.

VIA SATELLITE: There are some well-established news channels in the region such as Al Jazeera. Why do you think Sky News Arabia can make an impact in the region?

Donovan: It is a new fresh approach. You have the combination of Sky News as a global brand and the commitment to independence and impartiality that comes with that. You also have the multi-platform approach to disseminating our content, which we talked about. I think that is a completely different proposition to what the longer established Arabic news channels bring. It is early stages, but we believe this is already resonating with the audience. I think it is a combination of this commitment to independence combined with technology and strong local and regional knowledge. We have top quality local journalists working on the channel and a fresh, modern outlook to how news is distributed.

VIA SATELLITE: What is your take in terms of the regional outlook when looking at potential advertising revenues?

Donovan: We don’t have a track record to compare it with. I could not really comment as to whether we have been impacted by any economic downturn. What I can say is that we have been really encouraged and pleased at the level in which advertisers have come on board since we launched. There is a novelty value, of course, and we are brand new, but I think it goes beyond that. We have seen local entities in the region wishing to be associated with the brand and the channel. If we can sustain that – and I believe that we can – we will have a very strong proposition going forward. If we can retain that loyalty, and commitment from advertisers and build on that, and improve our reach and audience, the outlook is positive. At this stage, our ability to attract advertisers had exceeded our own initial expectations.

VIA SATELLITE: How are you using satellite for newsgathering?

Donovan: A 24-hour news channel is a hungry beast. In this region, there is no shortage of news stories. The ability to gather very significant quantities of news content each day – and to do so very quickly and efficiently in terms of operation, and what it costs us – is critical. We use BGAN and Thuraya, in addition to point-to-point circuitry between the bureau’s and Abu Dhabi where we have our headquarters. Those communications’ operations are a critical component of what we are doing. We have a CTO constantly looking at these newsgathering technologies. I like to think we are as advanced in this area as any other organization.

VIA SATELLITE: If we were having this conversation at the start of 2014, what would you hope to have achieved?

Donovan: We want a bigger audience. I hope by then people won’t be referring to us as a new channel, and I would like people to say that we have been able to create a real alternative for the Arabic speaking public for watching news, not only in the region, but also beyond.