By Nehad Ismail
The Arabic skies are very crowded with hundreds of Satellite TV Channels. Most recent statistics indicate that there are more than 620 Satellite TV Channels broadcasting in Arabic. Many of which are owned and run by people who haven’t got a clue about how the media works.
Every now and then we hear about the imminent launching of a new channel. Equally and frequently we hear of the demise of this TV station or that. Many of the channels are a waste of air space and time. They have nothing useful to offer. A cursory scan with the remote control is revealing and this is a small sample of what you may come across, competitions for the gormless imbeciles who think they are about to make a fortune. Some of the channels are peddling propaganda on behalf of religious sects.
Fatwas are dished out willy-nilly to cater for every situation. Others are primarily concerned with exploiting the gullible for their money. In Iraq for examples there are dozens of stations representing the views of various political and religious groups. Sport, music, drama and films are also offered by dozens of channels.
Attempts to regulate and supervise Satellite Broadcasting have failed. The Arab League Office tried to establish a code of ethics for Satellite Broadcasters but this was ignored or dismissed as a ruse to control freedom of speech.
Responsible and professional media
This is not to say there are no responsible, professional and serious News Satellite TV Stations in the Arab world. Alarabiya, Aljazeera, ANN (Arab News Network), ANB, LBC and New TV are examples of the serious media. We cannot ignore the BBC Arabic which is doing an excellent job compared with less funded counterparts.
Promotion of democracy and free-speech
It is a fact that the Satellite Channels despite the shortcomings have helped to promote free speech and break the taboos imposed by Government controlled TV Channels. Government’s grip over the media has weakened further with the advent of the internet. The barriers have all but disappeared. Discussion and debate programs enabled viewers to watch free discussion and free opinion. On some programs viewers are able to participate in the debate.
The media role is to communicate message. This message can be political, cultural, educational or just entertainment. The message can be transmitted via Satellite TV, Radio the Internet and even the mobile phone technology.
Foreign interest in the Arab World
In recent years we have witnessed greater and greater global interest in the Arab World. This interest manifested itself by satellite media invasion. The USA Congress approved the funding of Al-Hurra Satellite Channels which broadcast in Arabic from a location in Virginia close to Washington.
The impact of Al-Hurra was not great. It was viewed as an American PR tool which proved costly. It is estimated that Al-Hurra costs 100 million US dollars per annum. Russia and France established Russia today and France 24 respectively both broadcast in Arabic. Turkey and Iran are doing the same. The UK has the BBC Arabic language Service which is doing better than its competitors in reaching the Arab world. The Foreign Office allocated initially 28 million sterling pounds (42 million USD). Such foreign based channels are considered as an arm of foreign policy.
Targeting the young
65% of the Arab population is below the age of 35. Programs have to cater for this important group. Field studies indicate that light news and talk shows are popular among the young. Also entertaining material as offered by MBC and the Rotan Groups.
Multi-media, interactivity and integrating these tools
This latest development enables broadcaster to make use of the technology available to reach the maximum number of viewers and to enable viewers to participate in the debates and express their views via internet/twitter and even through the mobile (cell-phone).
The main players
The most important players in the Satellite Media in the Arab world are the Egyptian and Saudi based media. This is not to deny the existence of vibrant channels in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
In Egypt 90 minutes on Al-Mehwar TV Channel is particularly popular and “Sabaya” which deals with with family and women problems. Dream 1, Dream 2 and Oscar Drama are also popular among women. Whereas Dream Sport is followed largely by men.
Saudi Arabia has the most dynamic Satellite TV Channels. MBC (Middle East Broadcasting) was the first Pan-Arab Satellite Channel to be launched in 1991. MBC expanded to MBC2 and MBC3, MBC4 and MBC Action in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. This group offers varieties, American films, dramas, imported materials and MBC Action caters mainly for the young. The most significant development was the launching of Alarabiya News Channel as a counter-weight to Aljazeera.
Alarabyia news has more business content and more light news.
The Rotana Group launched by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. Its channels include Rotana Music, Rotana Cinema, Rotana Tarab, Rotana Khalijia, and other channels offering entertainment. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation acquired 9% of Rotana and talks of a strategic media alliance are underway between Rotana and Fox International. A new Arabic TV news channel in partnership with Rupert Murdoch Fox-News is to be launched in the near future...
ART Group of channels launched by the Saudi businessman Sh Saleh Kamel in 1993. It offers films, dramas, and general entertainment and sport although most of its sports channels have been sold to Al-Jazeera.
The most striking development was the decrease in the popularity of the heavy political content and the increase in the popularity of the “soft-content”. The rise in the popularity of the local channels at the expense of the Pan-Arab channels is a fact. Despite the popularity of Aljazeera most Jordanians turn to Jordan Satellite TV station for entertainment and local news.
Two-third of Arab society is young people below the age of 35. This group is more media savvy than the older generation and demands high standard of entertainment and programs that deal with issues relevant to their lives. They are not interested in heavy adversarial political shouting matches. Soft content intelligently presented is gaining ground at the expense of heavy stuff. People want programs that promote co-existence and understanding between religions and people from different ethnicities. Exposing bad behaviour by the authorities and the promotion of democratic values and respect for human rights are vitally important but must be introduced in small dozes within the framework of a socially oriented program. To succeed and stand out in the Middle East Satellite TV Bazaar, a Satellite TV Channel must have something special, it must have a unique blend of programs that distinguish it from the crowd.
Nehad Ismail is a writer and broadcaster in London, he contributed this article to Ammon News.
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