Activities
One of the first acts the new company took was to launch Abu Dhabi's first English newspaper, The National, in August 2007 (although the paper did not debut until April 2008).[2][5][6] Martin Newland, former editor of The Daily Telegraph, was named the newspaper's first editor.[6][7] The newspaper was given five years before it had to produce a balanced budget.[6] A year later, in October 2008, the company appointed Gavin Dickinson its executive director of publishing, with authority over the media firm's newspapers, its United Printing and Publishing printing company, and its publication distribution business.[8]
In early 2008, the company launched Abu Dhabi TV.[3] Karim Sarkis (formerly of the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation), was named its executive director, and Ricky Ghai (previously executive vice president of programming at Orbit, was named the executive director of digital media.[3] When it debuted, Abu Dhabi TV was the 20th most-watched Arab satellite channel, but soon reached 7th or 8th within a few months (in particular, based on the strength of its Million's Poet show).[3] October 2008 saw the company announce the creation of the Abu Dhabi Media Zone—a 200,000 square meter campus for foreign media companies.[9] CNN, HarperCollins, Random House, the BBC, The Financial Times and the Thomson Reuters Foundation
The company expanded heavily in motion pictures soon thereafter. It hosted the first 10-day Middle East International Film Festival in October 2007.[10] The festival is led by Peter Scarlet, formerly the creative director at the Tribeca Film Festival.[11] In May 2008 the company signed an agreement with Toonz Academy, a traditional and computer animation company based in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, to establish an animators' training center in Abu Dhabi.[12]
In September 2008, the company established a subsidiary,, with access to more than $1 billion with which to finance film production.[13][14][15] The company named former Walt Disney Pictures executive Edward Borgerding as its chief executive officer, and veteran motion picture production executive Stefan Brunner as its chief financial officer.[14][15] Later in September, signed a multibillion-dollar agreement to produce films, television shows, documentaries, and other media with Warner Bros.[13][16][17]
Beginning in 2007, the company began hosting "Circle", an annual conference dedicated to the financing and production of motion pictures, and to the training of producers, directors, editors, and other film technical personnel and acting talent.[13]
In October 2011, the company announced that its Abu Dhabi was changing its name to "Image Nation," and would create two subsidiaries: Image Nation Abu Dhabi and Image Nation International.[23]
On 3 April 2017, Abu Dhabi Media announced the relaunch of Radio 1 and Radio 2 from Gulf News Broadcasting, who lost the license to operate the stations the previous year, prompting them to suspend operations. ADM relaunched the stations on the same day.[24]
On 11 April 2019, Abu Dhabi Media and UFC today announced a multi-year broadcast partnership to provide access to all UFC events with the first event broadcast on April 11, 2019, with UFC 236.[25]
In July 2019 the board of directors of Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, ADDHC, issued a resolution to restructure the board of Abu Dhabi Media Company. The new board is chaired by Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and includes the following members: Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi – deputy chair; Mohamad Abdulla Al Junaibi – Member; Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi – Member, and Mr. Nart Bouran - Member.
On 19 September 2023, Abu Dhabi Media was rebranded to Abu Dhabi Media Network.
