Ensuring a sustainable media industry during COVID-19
twofour54, Abu Dhabi’s media and entertainment hub, has continued to fulfil its mission of ensuring a sustainable media industry with a raft of measures aimed at supporting the sector through COVID-19.
Home to more than 4,000 media professionals and 550 media companies, twofour54 continues to support its community with measures to ensure that their businesses continue to operate. This strategic support includes rent relief initiatives for more than 115 small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The media hub’s advanced infrastructure is playing a vital role in ensuring a seamless virtual connection and integration within its community amid remote working through the twofour54 Briefing Room, a unique portal where clients, partners and affiliated entities can post requests for proposals for the community to respond. Furthermore, twofour54’s Customer Care team have also introduced a new rate card for its partners, allowing businesses to access reduced rates for the department’s paperwork and admin services.
twofour54, working closely with the Government of Abu Dhabi, has developed a blueprint that allows production companies to continue to shoot and edit in the Emirate despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. The media industry is among those sectors deemed an essential services provider by the government and has, therefore, been exempted from movement restrictions, provided organisations and individuals follow all necessary precautionary measures.
As a result, twofour54, working with Abu Dhabi Film Commission, the National Media Council and the Government of Abu Dhabi, has ensured that production continues safely on $100 million worth of projects. This includes MBC Studios, twofour54 and Image Nation Abu Dhabi’s co-production ‘Inheritance’, the Arab World’s first soap opera. The soap opera explores Saudi Arabia’s social, economic, and cultural aspects within a dramatic family setting and has been one of only a few international soaps that has been able to continue production during the global pandemic.
Additionally, twofour54 is providing post-production services at a competitive discount for all partners creating content related to COVID-19 or government announcements in order to continue creativity and the creation of inspirational content during this time.
Helping firms to keep productions running, or to get new ones under way, is part of twofour54’s strategy to help the media sector as a whole to traverse COVID-19. twofour54 is implementing a strict set of measures to ensure the health and safety of everyone involved in these productions in addition to liaising continuously with local health authorities to ensure the adoption of every possible precautionary measure.