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A leading producer of commissioned content in the region, Charisma currently produces in excess of 1,200 hours of television per annum. With this move, Charisma will gain the opportunity to create dynamic new programming, using state-of-the-art production, post-production and broadcast facilities available at twofour54 intaj.

Charisma Gulf plans to produce, in the first 3 years of operation, close to 4000 hours of quality scripted and non-scripted programs, entertainment shows and documentaries by uncovering cultural insights that shape viewers’ expectations. This operation will obviously create new job opportunities, forecasted at more than 70 for the first year alone and, in line with established practice, largely including the recruitment and training of local talent. It is also planning to approach regional drama with international production standards, in order to cater to an increasingly demanding audience in the GCC and broader MENA markets.

The GCC headquarters will also offer media management services to TV channels, from market analysis to 360 exploitation of their content.

Ayman Al Zyoud CEO and founder of Charisma, said, “ The GCC market has always been of great importance to us, and our focus on insightful content makes it only logical for us to expand our operations within the Gulf. It’s this shared vision of cultural relevance and original content, along with their infrastructure and production facilities that made us choose twofour54 among the many options that were available.”

Wayne Borg, twofour54’s COO, said: “Charisma’s commitment to Abu Dhabi is a vindication of our vision to create a sustainable content creation community. I’m delighted that Charisma will be a totally integrated partner in our community which is developing local and regional Arab talent through training and investment and providing production facilities second to none in the region.”

By the end of 2010 twofour54 is expected to be home to more than 100 regional and international partners developing quality media content from its Khalifa Park campus. Charisma joins this growing content creation community, which will continue to grow significantly throughout 2011.

Tony Orsten, twofour54’s CEO, said: “We launched twofour54 intaj’s production, post-production and broadcast facilities at the end of 2009 and have since booked more than 500 production days to produce close to 1000 hours of TV programming. Attracting major Arab production companies, like Charisma, will add not only to the amount of Arabic programming produced at twofour54 but also contribute to our overall rapidly expanding and evolving media ecosystem through increased job and career development opportunities for Arabs working or entering the media industry.”

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