F THERE’S one thing that of channels that are watched by sig- Global precedents reveal little The impetus for this has been the fact
I
can be said about TV in the nificant numbers of people does not about how these smaller operators that advertisers such as P&G have
Middle East, it’s that there is exceed 25 in the pan-Arab region,” he will fare. For the Middle East TV mar- been booking adverts to target the
a lot of choice. says. ket is unique in that the major net- Egypt market.
Around 450 channels op- “I’m not sure why the rest exist— works transmit the same channels “Our main commercial market
erate in the region—includ- but they serve to fragment the mar- across the region as a whole, rather has been Saudi. But I think the next
ing more than 370 free-to-air stations. ket further. Some people launch than tailored broadcasts for each emerging market is Egypt. And I think
But it is estimated by MBC group that channels as a vanity project, or country. As Nick Grande, managing Egypt will become more and more af-
the top ten of these attract around 70 with some kind of social agenda in director of TV consultancy Channel- fluent. We are pitching a part of our
per cent of the total audience and ad mind.” Sculptor, puts it: “You buy Saudi Ara- general service to North Africa be-
share; the top 50 channels attract 95 Tim Riordan, group TV director bia, and you get 80 million Egyptians cause it’s commercially viable,” he
per cent of revenue. MBC, spells out bluntly what will for nothing. You buy one country, and says.
So given the current advertising happen as a result of this fragmenta- you get the other 22 for free.” “The challenge will be whether we
downturn, it’s obvious that there tion: “I think that the strong will sur- Grande says that there is currently can put different ads in different mar-
are a lot of vulnerable players in the vive and the weak won’t”. “no trend towards spot-beams”, re- kets. We’re trying to do this.”
market.
“You practically have 400 channels
Some people launch channels as a vanity
struggling for five per cent of the audi-
ence share and commercial revenue,”
project, or with some kind of social agenda
says Mazen Hayek, group director in mind. B
UT, AS Grande argues on
page 11, it is not neces-
sarily the case that the
structure of the ‘unique’
of marketing, PR and commercial at Middle East TV industry will stay the
MBC Group. “This [means that there same. The emergence of IPTV in the
are] channels that no one watches, region—many local telcos have an of-
and no one advertises on.” fering, and ADMC is believed to be
“It looks cluttered, but when you T
HE BAD news for the vul- ferring to the technology that allows
nerable TV channels—such satellites broadcasters to transmit dif-
as Dubai’s City7, which has ferent data signals to target different
been plagued with rumours geographical areas using the same about to launch its own ‘on demand’
dig deeper, it shows that the advertis- that it is to close—is that those at the frequency. “The advertisers want channel—means that the landscape
ers and the viewers have clearly made top of the TV tree are looking to wid- pan-regional coverage, so it would of TV could be about to change. As
their choices. This tells you that re- en their lead. only be good for the channels,” says Grand writes: “Easy to find program-
gion can barely support 50 channels, “I think we have an impenetrable Grande. ming, high quality picture, channels
maximum.” gap in competitive terms. We need to MBC’s Tim Riordan agrees that the targeting specific viewers with results
Hayek adds that—while the region make sure that we still set trends, and ‘unique’ setup of the pan-regional supported by credible research… Tel-
is home to 300 million people, it at- widen that gap,” says Hayek. broadcasts could remain for the fore- cos can do that.”
tracts just one per cent of total global “In times of corrections, advertis- seeable future: “It’s very difficult to So, while the number of channels
ad spend. ers tend to consolidate their budgets. change once it’s been established. available could drop on a regional
Karim Sarkis, executive director of Secondly, they adopt indispensible I don’t think it’s viable to start re- level, we could see more tailored
broadcast at the Abu Dhabi Media media for the brand connections with stricting by country—it just wouldn’t offerings—with more targeted ad-
Company, says that there is too much audiences. In tough times, leading work,” he says. vertising—pushed out on a national
fragmentation in the region. outlets are the ones that benefit most. However, Riordan says that MBC basis. It will mean that giants such as
“Do I agree that there are too many So I have a lot of cautious optimism is currently looking at how to tailor MBC and Showtime cannot afford to
channels? Absolutely. The number about 2009.” advertisements to different markets. rest on their laurels.
Qatar opens Al Jazeer Differences in Palestinian
During the same period, the
territories
Government of Qatar subsidised
Palestinian-controlled broadcast-
the foundation of a satellite station
ing, because of its long-term
that was technically private and
struggle, is a different case. For
independent. The controversial Al
years, Palestinian broadcasters
Jazeera station soon became popular
only had access to transmitters
because it broke many Arab taboos.
located in other Arab countries, us-
Al-Jazeera’s discussions and call-in
ing foreign government-owned and
programmes frequently included, for
controlled transmitters. During the
Others enter the fray
example, direct criticism of the poli-
1990s, after the Palestinian-Israeli
cies of several Arab governments, to
Modern era television
In 1994 two groups of Saudi investors
Oslo Accords, radio and television
an extent not heard before in regional
In the 21st century, eight more private
established two more Arab satellite
began under the auspices of the
media. In addition, programmes
satellite TV broadcasters have been
companies—Arab Radio and Televi-
Palestinian Authority (PA) and by
discuss religion and gender in ways
established, including two owned by
sion Network (ART) and Orbit—both
private individuals. Nevertheless,
rarely dealt with elsewhere.
Lebanese, three by Egyptians, and
of which were fee-based broadcast- one each by Tunisians, Algerians, and
the PA often restricted the latter,
ers that used a coded system ac- Saudis. Meanwhile, many Arab govern-
and Isrand Israael rel restrtricticteed both.d both.
cessible only to subscribers. During ments have started their own networks,
the next three years, two groups of alongside existing terrestrial ones. Even
Lebanese private investors started the new satellite companies, although
satellite stations, one named Future, supposedly private, tend to operate
the other being the well-known under some government influence
Lebanese Broadcasting Company; because of legal restrictions, financial
Syrian private investors established necessity and personal connections be-
Arab News Network. tween owners and government officials.
17 MAY 2009 / 15
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