Turret Media has announced the official launch of medialive! in association with NAB Show, the largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment, at twofour54, the content creation community for the Middle East.

Scheduled for October 16-18, 2011, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, medialive! will present a unique visitor experience where attendees will be guided through the entire content lifecycle via four interactive zones dedicated to content creation, management, commerce and delivery.

Chris Fountain, managing director at Turret Media, said, 'Things have been moving fast for medialive! since we first announced our plans and association with NAB Show.'

'This brand new media event in Abu Dhabi is being designed to bring together a host of associated events, showcase the emerging Middle East media market and enhance skills and knowledge within the industry,' he noted.

'Having gone to market both internationally and domestically we’ve been hugely encouraged by the reception. There is clearly a great demand for the event and major international interest in the development of the Abu Dhabi and Middle East media markets.'

'We have listened to the industry and can confirm a series of exciting initiatives and associated events now taking place under the medialive! umbrella. Today we are announcing these initiatives, all of which will run alongside our core exhibition and will address key issues faced by today’s media professionals and celebrate excellence in the marketplace,' Fountain said.

The initiatives include uCreate – the Middle East Post Production Conference; Get Streamed; Broadercasting Engineering Conference; Mohtawa Arabic Content Clinic; The Middle East Radio Awards; and Broadercasting, a NAB conference on the business of media.

To assist in the delivery of medialive!, a steering committee has been formed in recent weeks to help drive each initiative forward and to ensure the programme of events remains relevant and responsive to the real needs of this fast-moving industry.

The committee comprises experts from within the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, Du, Omnicom Media Group, MediaCast, Dreamtek, Future Media Concepts, National Association of Broadcasters, MBC Group and Abu Dhabi Media Company.

Fountain said the latest technologies and convergence were rapidly changing the face of the content market at all stages of its lifecycle. At the core of medialive! we aim to carry visitors through this lifecycle showing how technology is breaking down the barriers between the traditional processes and bringing content to market in more efficient multi-platform formats.
 
'An extensive conference programme with masterclasses, seminars and hands-on workshops delivered by Future Media Concepts, an authorised training centre for Apple, Adobe and ADVID, will provide unrivalled access to the best tools, skills and workflow solutions in the marketplace,' he added.

Chris Brown, executive vice president of Conventions and Business Operations at NAB said commented “We are very excited to be given the opportunity to contribute over 80 years of experience to this new event in Abu Dhabi, and to connect the NAB Show brand to a rapidly expanding media community in the Mena region.”

He pointed out that demand for new media in the Middle East was growing and the opportunity for greater penetration remains.

“There is a rapidly growing demand for local content catering to regional, cultural and language differences, being driven by a young and wealthy population base with a healthy appetite for new technology and entertainment.  We look forward to engaging with the region’s media in October of next year,” Brown said.

Indeed, the pan-Arab media industry is expanding faster than that of any other region and is now estimated to be to be growing at 19 per cent, the official stated.

'With 55 per cent of the Arab population under the age of 25, it seems the Middle East is offering a variety of opportunities for local, regional and global players in the media industry,' Brown added.-TradeArabia News Service