Abu Dhabi Media Network (ADMN)

Abu Dhabi Media Network (ADMN), formerly Abu Dhabi Media, is the official media arm of the Abu Dhabi Government. Its media operations trace their origins to 1969, while the modern corporate structure was established by Abu Dhabi Law No. 13 of 2007, which created Abu Dhabi Media Company as a public joint-stock company from the assets of Emirates Media Incorporated. In September 2023, Abu Dhabi Media was relaunched and rebranded as Abu Dhabi Media Network under a new strategy and identity. ADMN manages a large portfolio of media brands spanning television, radio, print, magazines, digital platforms and production services. Its outlets serve Arabic- and English-speaking audiences in the UAE and the wider region, while also functioning as a key vehicle for promoting Abu Dhabi’s official image, national identity, development agenda and media-sector strategy.

Media assets

Television: Abu Dhabi TV, Al Emarat, Abu Dhabi Drama, Abu Dhabi Sports 1, Abu Dhabi Sports 2, Abu Dhabi Sports 3, Abi Dhabi Sports 4, Yas, Majid TV, National Geographic Abu Dhabi

Radio: Quran Kareem, Emarat FM, Abu Dhabi FM, Star FM, Abu Dhabi Classic FM, KADAK FM, Radio 1, Radio 2

Publishing: Al Ittihad, Zahrat Al Khaleej, Majid Magazine, National Geographic Al Arabiya Magazine

Portals: Zayed, Mohtawa

Ownership and governance

ADMN is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government. Its modern structure dates to Law No. 13 of 2007, which established Abu Dhabi Media Company as a public joint-stock company. The company was formed from the consolidation of Emirates Media Incorporated’s assets and operates as part of Abu Dhabi’s wider government media ecosystem.

In September 2023, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, launched ADMN’s new vision and strategy. The relaunch presented ADMN as an integrated media organisation designed to highlight national identity and values, enrich public knowledge, develop educational and informative content, and strengthen Abu Dhabi’s position in the media and knowledge economy. ADMN stated that the transformation reports to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office oversees Abu Dhabi’s unified media ecosystem and media strategy. In March 2025, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, appointed Maryam Eid AlMheiri as Chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Media Office with the rank of Department Chairman. This places ADMN within a government-controlled media structure overseen at the emirate level.

Public sources are not fully consistent or up to date on the current chairmanship of ADMN’s board. Earlier official material identified Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber as Chairman of Abu Dhabi Media, while the current ADMN website foregrounds executive management rather than a board-chair profile. As of mid-2026, ADMN’s public executive-management page lists Rashed Humaid Al Qubaisi as Chief Executive Officer, Eissa Saif Al Mazrouei as Chief Content Center Officer, Hamad Obaid Al Kaabi as Chief News Center Officer, and Talib Saeed Al Zaabi as Chief Support Service Officer. Regardless of the precise current board-chair listing, ADMN’s ownership, oversight and senior appointments place it firmly within Abu Dhabi’s state media architecture rather than an independent governance framework.

Source of funding and budget

ADMN operates under a mixed-revenue model, drawing on advertising, commercial partnerships, production services and distribution across its broadcast, publishing and digital platforms, supplemented by government funding. Detailed financial disclosures are not publicly available, consistent with the limited transparency typical of UAE state-owned media entities.

Based on SMM-retained interviews conducted in March 2024 and May 2025 with journalists and analysts familiar with the UAE media landscape, ADMN’s government subsidy is understood to remain under half of annual expenditure, while commercial revenues provide a significant share of operating income. Third-party estimates of annual revenue exist but are not based on audited public accounts and should be treated with caution.

Editorial independence

ADMN does not operate under any codified guarantee of editorial independence. Its ownership, government-appointed leadership and placement within the Abu Dhabi Media Office ecosystem shape its strategic and editorial direction. Its outlets consistently align with official narratives, avoid critical coverage of UAE authorities and government policy, and give prominence to national identity, development priorities, public-service messaging and Abu Dhabi’s regional and international positioning.

Some ADMN outlets cover soft-interest, cultural, social, sports, educational and human-interest topics with a lively tone, and some reporting may appear relatively open by local standards. However, such coverage remains within the parameters of permissible discourse and avoids substantive challenge to state policy or leadership.

No domestic statute, independent assessment or external oversight mechanism exists to validate or enforce editorial autonomy at ADMN. The broader UAE federal framework of media, cybercrime and online-content legislation further constrains independent journalism. ADMN is therefore best understood as a communications arm of the Abu Dhabi state rather than an independent media organisation.

AI and digital policy

SMM found no evidence that ADMN has published a dedicated public AI governance or editorial-use policy as of mid-2026.

The network has, however, continued to expand its digital and content operations. ADMN’s 2023 strategy emphasised broadcast, digital and print integration, the development of the Aletihad News Centre as a unified multilingual news operation, stronger content for non-Arabic speakers, modernised radio and digital distribution, and the use of state-of-the-art infrastructure and technology. The strategy also explicitly referred to keeping pace with technological advancements, including artificial intelligence, in the media sector.

ADMN’s current public materials describe delivery across digital applications, websites, social media and the ADMN/ADtv digital platform, including live broadcasts, video on demand and podcasts through STARZPLAY. During the 2025/26 cycle, ADMN also continued content partnerships and digital distribution activity across its broadcast and children’s-entertainment brands.

These developments demonstrate significant digital transformation and engagement with the broader UAE AI and media-technology agenda. However, SMM identified no ADMN-specific public framework governing the use of AI in editorial production, verification, attribution, recommendation systems, audience analytics, synthetic-media labelling, content disclosure or human editorial oversight.

Classification rationale

ADMN is classified Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu), a classification maintained from prior SMM cycles. It is wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi government and operates commercially with a mixed funding model rather than as a simple government department. However, its ownership, strategic direction and senior leadership are embedded in Abu Dhabi’s government media architecture, and its editorial output aligns consistently with official positions. No independent statutory or oversight mechanism safeguards its editorial autonomy.

June 2026