Television-grade production with OB vans, satellite uplinks, and experienced crews.
This dedicated 320-hectare facility offers purpose-built sound stages, virtual production volumes, and direct fiber links to major international networks. The zone features redundant satellite earth stations and 100Gbps fiber connectivity, enabling simultaneous multi-format distribution without leaving the campus. Its integration with NEOM's city-wide 5G and future 6G infrastructure positions it as the most technologically advanced production hub in the GCC region.
The mountain destination hosting the Asian Winter Games 2029 presents unique broadcast challenges that NEOM's infrastructure is specifically engineered to solve. Trojena's broadcast compound will feature temporary satellite farms and mobile OB van deployment zones at 2,400-meter elevation, with pre-installed fiber trunking to all competition venues. The site's design incorporates helicopter landing zones for rapid crew and equipment deployment across its dispersed ski slopes and outdoor arenas.
NEOM's city-wide fiber network provides dedicated broadcast lanes with guaranteed bandwidth, eliminating the contention issues common in legacy urban centers. The planned subsea cable landings at NEOM Bay create direct low-latency paths to Europe, Asia, and Africa, reducing satellite dependency for international distribution. This infrastructure supports 8K and immersive broadcast formats that will define coverage of the Asian Winter Games 2029.
NEOM operates under an independent regulatory framework that streamlines frequency allocation, drone filming permits, and international crew visa processing within 48 hours. The Media Production Zone offers customs-bonded equipment import with no duty on temporary broadcast gear, significantly reducing operational costs for multi-week productions. This efficiency contrasts sharply with the bureaucratic complexity producers face in established regional hubs.
NEOM's partnership with international broadcast training institutes is developing a local workforce fluent in both Arabic and English production protocols. For immediate needs, the region's proximity to established crew bases in Dubai and Riyadh enables rapid personnel mobilization while accommodation infrastructure scales up. The Asian Winter Games 2029 serves as the catalyst for crew capacity building that will sustain ongoing production demand post-event.
NEOM's geography spans coastal plains, mountain ranges, and desert within 50 kilometers, requiring OB van configurations capable of rapid redeployment. Satellite uplink planning must account for Trojena's mountainous terrain where line-of-sight to orbital slots may require relay positioning from lower elevations. Successful productions build flexibility into their technical designs rather than optimizing for single-location operation.
The zone offers centralized technical facilities including master control rooms, playout services, and equipment rental pools that reduce the capital burden of full self-sufficiency. Productions can access these on a project basis rather than shipping entire control room infrastructure, with technical standards guaranteed through zone certification programs. This shared model particularly benefits news and sports productions with compressed timelines.
Broadcast infrastructure installation at Trojena follows a phased construction schedule through 2028, with site access for technical surveys becoming available in late 2026. Productions planning to utilize Games-era facilities should engage with NEOM's event delivery team early to align technical specifications and secure compound space. Post-Games, much of this infrastructure will transition to permanent resort operations, creating legacy broadcast capability for future events.