MIDDLE EAST
CREATIVE SHOWCASEOPINION
Can pay, won’t pay
As free-to-air channels finally start to deliver quality content, it might be
time for pay-TV to pack its bags
LAST SUMMER, during one of my delu- brink of a potential media coup. How so? might need to buy more than one subscrip-
sional spells, and at a loose end on vaca- Well, it seems that pay-TV via subscrip- tion to view all your ‘must see’ channels
tion, I found myself in the London offices of tion, the current platform for this particular (I only subscribe to Orbit so I can get BBC
a prominent US cable channel. I was there, channel, is dying, and the new mantra is Prime, for example).
way out of my depth as usual, to see if they free-to-air. This fact explains why a repu- Showtime has at least managed to dis-
might be interested in parting ways with table broadcaster was prepared to consider tinguish itself by paying what I presume
their Middle East franchise holder, hand- throwing in their lot with a couple of wan- is a king’s ransom for the English Premier
John Deykin
ing the licence to broadcast one of their in- nabe neophytes. The view from the top, ap- League, which it uses to leverage interest
CEO, TMH
ternational formats to me and a mate, on a parently, is that in a crowded market, the in—and viewership of—all its other nicely
free-to-air basis. best money making opportunities will, in co-branded channels. Even then, this in it-
This was attempted with almost no cre- future, come from the free-to-air model. self is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea,
Who knows, I might even start watching
dentials on our part, and a bit of a sketchy I don’t pretend to understand all the eco- especially the lay-dees.
City 7. Which is free and quite good. Hon-
business plan, but with a lot of brass neck nomics, but the lay perspective might be The current perceived wisdom, I had
est. Especially Face To Face, Mondays at
and a goodly dose of the ‘can do’ entrepre- thus: TV is expensive—both transmission thought, was that if you want to see some
9.30pm. It has a particularly adroit and dap-
neurial spirit with which one is infused after and content—and the number of possible decent telly, you’ll have to purchase two
per presenter.
years in Dubai. Middle East subscribers for pay-TV is forev- subscriptions—which means coughing up
But I do wonder about the survivability of
To my surprise (and subsequent con- er going to be disproportionate to the costs, an eye-watering Dhs700 per month.
the pay-TV/sponsorship model in the face
sternation, when I had to negotiate my way especially as subscribers don’t want to see a That is what I was doing until I discovered
of the first-rate content that is now avail-
through a heavy duty discussion with their lot of advertising. Revenues are further con- MBC 4. Hallelujah. It’s got all the ingredients. A
able free-to-air, supported by commer-
seemingly teenage representative on rights, strained by the fragmentary nature of the bit of news, the latest series, some talk. And the
cial breaks. Plus, who exactly will be able
carriage, transmission, localised content region in terms of language, customs and killer app: David Letterman (dumped by Show-
to afford pay-TV in the light of the current
and revenue opportunities) they seemed demographics (OMD, by the way, is bound time a year ago). Plus it’s free. I’ve suddenly rea-
general belt-tightening? The economics of
rather up for it. to have an algebraic formula for all of this.) lised that I could dispense with two of my three
some of the big players are already fragile,
To be honest, I had gone there for the At the same time, the market is horribly pay-TV subscriptions and not miss any of my
reportedly. Who might be the first to fail? Is
chance to grandstand with one of the big fractured, with a proliferation of channels fave shows. It might also save hours a year spent
consolidation likely?
players, exchange views on this and that, and content. At the last count, for example, disconsolately zapping up and down the elec-
And will I be the next Lew Grade? I
have a donut in Patisserie Valerie and spend I could see Desperate Housewives on four tronic programme guide (which, please note
wouldn’t hold your breath, but even if I
the rest of the morning pottering around pay channels, a duplication over which sub- Du IPTV peeps, does not work properly and is
don’t succeed on this occasion, it won’t put
Soho. But here I was, little old me, on the scribers have little control given that you set to the wrong time).
a stop to my weekly Cohiba.
Tall tales in retail
Store owners should tell the truth in their shop names
FOR ME, things came to a head a few years ago—back in New
Zealand—when I heard about Meat City. It conjures up all kinds
of images doesn’t it? Block after block of meat. As well as the obvi-
ous meat packing district, there would be all kinds of other meat-
themed neighborhoods. People would walk sausage dogs. Little
meat traffic lights wouldn’t go green, orange, red, they would go
well done, medium, and rare. But, much to my dismay, Meat City City
turned out to be just a large shop. Not even a warehouse.
I’m sure these lies about size started innocently enough.
A guy had a lot of something to sell and rented a big build-
ing—possibly even an actual warehouse—and his friend
Peter Vegas
suggested he call it ‘The Something Warehouse’, and tell
customers that bigger buying power meant ‘The Some-
Creative director
thing Warehouse’ was able to offer cheaper prices.
Impact BBDO, Abu Dhabi But somewhere along the way people started taking lib-
erties with the definition of the word warehouse. Mobile
phone dealers and bed-sellers are particularly guilty of
stretching the boundaries of retail-space reality back home, but here in Abu Dhabi, it seems the
sky’s the limit. Literally. That’s right, I’m talking about you ‘Skyland’. You don’t need a passport t
to visit this place. In fact, walk too fast and you go right past it. Big dreams for what is basically a a
small stall. Perhaps the owner has read The Secret and is making his dream into reality. But don’t t
shop owners have an obligation to create an honest dialogue with their customers?
Across the road from my home they’ve just opened Burger City. I understand that calling it it
‘Small Burger Shop on the corner’ would have incurred more sign writing costs. But it would, aatt
least, have been accurate. I spotted the Seven Star Drycleaner the other day. Seven stars! For drryy
cleaning? I mean, I know this is Abu Dhabi but do you get your undies back in a Louis Vuitton BB?ag?
Are the coat hangers made of white gold?
There are people out there keeping it real and I think these retailers should be applauded. Al-
though maybe not the brains behind the Two Star Restaurant. That could be a little too honest.
But let me tell you about Yousuf. His business card says, quite simply, “Yousuf Metal Boxes Shop”.
And when you get there you’re not disappointed. Here is a guy who delivers exactly what he prom-
ises. But there’s more. How many times have you woken up in the middle of the night and thought,
“I could really use a metal box right now.” Recognizing the massive untapped potential of this mar-
ket, Yousuf has put a sign in his window that says, “For emergencies call 050 7916821”. You know
exactly where you are with Yousuf the moment you see the name of his shop, and thanks to his sign
you know exactly where Yousuf is anytime, day or night. That’s the kind of straightforward honesty
and customer service that turns you into a loyal consumer. It’s also why I won’t let my wife have
Tupperware in the house anymore.
www.mediaweekme.com 25 JANUARY 2009 / 19
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