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Global Brief
The latest news from the international broadcasting industry
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Trouble in the house for ‘Big Brother’
Dutch production company Endemol, which already has launched
Big Brother
in 24 territories around theworld, had hoped to be equally
successful with the Middle East version of its hit reality show ‘Big
Brother’. It had made adjustments to its formula to avoid a culture
clash, had specifically designed the house where 12 contestants from
12 different MidEastern countries were to attempt to spend 70 days.
Located onAmwaj Island in Bahrain, the house featured separate
male and female bathrooms, bedrooms and prayer rooms. These
extra rooms meant the addition of 10 more cameras than the
average
Big Brother
house. Daily 30-minute shows were
broadcast on pan-Arab news and entertainment channel MBC2,
with a live show every Saturday giving viewers chance to vote
for the least popular housemate.
But despite taking extra care to adapt the programme to Arab traditions, the show
drew strong protests. A Bahraini MP said the TV serial would have been acceptable if
the sexes had been separated in every part of the house; clergymen preached sermons
on the show’s negative impact on society and said its real aim was to destroy the
morals of youth. After receiving hundreds of complaints from conservative Muslims,
the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) finally took the programme off the air.
Pan-Arab marketing campaign for BBC Arabic
BBC World Service has launched a pan-Arab marketing
campaign promoting the BBC Arabic radio and online
interactivity. The core message of the 11-week multimedia
ad campaign is:
Express your views - you don’t need
permission
. Editor of bbcarabic.com Hosam El Sokkari said
that the BBC offers its Arabic-language audiences a unique
opportunity to interact and comment on issues of regional
and international importance. “Together with the
Have Your
Say
section on bbcarabic.com these interactive programmes
have turned BBCArabic into a hub across theArab-speaking
world for a free and open debate and dialogue as people call
us, email us and message us.”
Controller of BBCWorld ServiceMarketing, Communications
andAudiences, Alan Booth, said the
Express your views - you
don’t need permission
campaign positions BBCArabic as the
natural home for news-seeking Arabic-speakers around the
world. “With this targeted campaign promoting the BBC’s
editorial accessibility and its presence in the Arab world, we
will reach these audiences and drive them to the service’s radio and online offer, where
speakers of Arabic, wherever they are, can engage in dialogue.”
BBC World Service used Team/Young & Rubicam Dubai to produce creative work for
the campaign whileMediaedgecia Dubai planned and bought media. The print campaign
appears in key pan-Arabic dailies, weeklies andmonthlymagazines reaching an estimated
three million people. The campaign also appears - inArabic and English - on major and
specialised online sites, and on BBC Arabic radio trails across the Arab world.
BBCGlobal News - comprisingWorld Service radio andWorld television - is a Member
of the AIB, and Alan Booth is a Member of the AIB’s Executive Committee.
Jordan approves “The Gulf One”
Jordan has approved an Arab Gulf satellite
channel in the kingdom. The head of the
recently-created audiovisual authority,
Husayn Bani Hani, said the authority
received 17 requests from radio and
television networks but that the
government acceded to only two of them.
A green light was given to the Gulf
Company for Development and
Investment, owned by an Arab Gulf
businessman, to set up a satellite channel
in Amman. Al-Khalijiya (The Gulf One) is
the first foreign television channel to be
launched from Jordan, which only has one
state-run television station. A Jordanian
firm was also granted permission to
provide a cable television service.
First private TV station for Tunisia
Details have emerged of what will be the
first private TV station in Tunisia. An
agreement was signed on 13 February
between Communication Technologies and
TransportationMinister Sadok Rabeh and the
channel’s founder, Larbi Nasra.The new TV
station, Nasr TV, “is going to be a general
interest channel focusing mostly on
entertainment programmes and targeting a
young audience,” Mr Nasra said. The channel
will broadcast digitally on the Hotbird
satellite around the clock, seven days aweek.
Arabic will be the main language of the
station, but the use of foreign languages
is considered for some programmes, for
example tourism documentaries. State-
of-the-art studio sets are located in La
Soukra, a Tunis suburb, and professionals
have been hired from the Tunisian market.
Mr Nasra plans to recover his investments
through advertisement earnings/inflows,
both local and foreign.
The creation of private radio and television
stations was announced by President Ben
Ali on 7 November 2003. The first private
radio station, Radio Mosaic FM, started
broadcasting the same day.
Worldspace satellite radio package
WorldSpace Corporation has lanched the
first multinational satellite radio
subscription plan available across the
WorldSpace Satellite Radio global footprint
which covers Europe, Asia, the Middle East
and Africa. The initial target market for
phase one of the global subscription roll-
out will be American and British
expatriates including the US Military.
Integrating some of the world’s most
recognised media brands including Fox
News, National Public Radio (NPR),
Bloomberg, Radio Caroline, talkSPORT,
BBC, and Virgin Radio UK, the “Home Team
Radio/Brits Abroad” subscription offering
is available for $9.99 per month, with
special additional receiver subscription and
multi-year incentives.
A Bahraini boy joins the
protest against
Big Brother
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Pakistan private radio cannot sign foreign channels
At the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) meeting on 26 February,
Information and Broadcasting Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said that private radio
channels cannot sign broadcast agreements directly with foreign radio channels. He
also directed PEMRA to carry out a feasibility study for setting up the Islamabad
Media City Centre to provide private television channels with a central office to operate
from. He said all processes must be swift and that PEMRAmust help interested parties
to set up media projects – media is developing swiftly and Pakistan’s media technology
must be advanced to compete with international standards.
Two MMDS channels have been licensed while another 22 channels are still under
consideration. PEMRA Chairman Mian Javed said the delay in giving licenses to the
remaining MMDS was because the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) had not as yet
allocated frequencies to them. 10 private radio channels have already gone on the air
and the other 18 are lined up to start broadcasting by April 2004. Another 27 licensed
radio channels are to start broadcasting by the end of the year.
