The Channel | 2004 | September

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During the past decade, private satelliteTV channels have taken media
markets in the Middle East and NorthAfrica by storm. With them come
innovative programming and unscripted formats, such as talk shows
and roundtable discussions, to Arabs across national borders. Radical
changes to Middle Eastern media consumption habits are underway.
Gone are the days when state-owned television channels, whose
programmes glorified the government’s latest achievements, were the
only viewing options for Middle Eastern consumers.
The proliferation of these pan-Arab broadcasters, such as Al-Jazeera,
MBC, and Future TV, has received much attention, but up until recently,
researchers and media producers have had little quantitative data to
demonstrate these satellite channels’ success. During the summer of
2003, InterMedia Survey Institute conducted six surveys in the Middle
East and NorthAfrica, providing much needed data about regional media
markets, many in the midst of transition from state-run media monopolies
to increasing, if not sometimes chaotic, competition.
The surveys took place in countries as diverse as Kuwait, with a gross
national income (GNI) per capita of $18,270, and Egypt, with a GNI
per capita of $1,530 (2001 World Bank Development Indicators). Yet
despite political and socio-economic differences between these societies,
the surveys suggest discernible trends in the region’s television markets:
the impressive growth of satellite access, the emergence of more than a
dozen private Arab satellite channels, and the contest among private
and state-owned satellite stations to attract regional audiences.
The growth of satellite TV
By 2003, satellite TV access was pervasive throughout the Middle East
and NorthAfrica (table 1 below). In some wealthier, oil-exporting Gulf
countries, over 95 percent of households surveyed had a satellite dish.
Ownership elsewhere in the region, from Jordan to Morocco, hovered
between 50 percent and 60 percent. Access was lowest in Egypt (12
percent), arguably due to the relatively high cost of satellite dishes and
the presence of appealing domestic terrestrial stations.
Two factors are driving the propagation of satellite TV in the Middle
East. Technological improvements have substantially reduced the cost
of dishes to roughly $200, making them accessible to more consumers.
Moreover, private satellite networks have emerged, givingArab viewers
sophisticated programming that rivals government-owned channels and
Western outlets.
The first private Arab satellite channel launched in 1991—the Middle
East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)—was largely financed by Saudi
investors impressed by CNN’s success during the Gulf War. Although
initially headquartered in London, MBC targeted Arab viewers with
newscasts inArabic by reporters with regional expertise, extensive field
coverage, discussion forums, and an aura of professionalism then
uncommon in the Middle East.
MBC’s success in news coverage, and later in entertainment, spurred an
industry of privateArab satellite
channels in the early 1990s,
mostly funded by investors from
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, and
Lebanon. The most famous
example isAl-Jazeera. Founded
in 1996, the channel originally
garnered the Qatari
government’s substantial
backing but was nominally still
a private enterprise. By 2003,
over a dozen private networks
had appeared, such as Dream
TV, LBC, and Orbit, with
content ranging from modified
versions of popular American
shows (for instance, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) to Al-Jazeera’s
andAl-Arabiya’s news coverage and analysis.
Responding to these channels’ surging popularity, states throughout the
Middle East and North Africa established their own satellite stations.
By 2004, every regional government had a satellite network, such as
the Egyptian Space Channel (ESC). Although many governments
aspired to duplicate the success of private channels, only a few state-
owned stations, such as Abu Dhabi TV, have captured the attention of
audiences beyond their domestic market.
The regional contest for Arab viewers
The growth of private satellite channels in the Middle East has been
dramatic. In some cases, such asAl-Jazeera’s and MBC’s, their viewing
rates now rival or exceed those of domestic stations, both terrestrial and
satellite. In the Gulf countries, surveys showed the overall weekly reach
of these pan-Arab satellite channels surpassing that of domestic TV
stations (see table 2 below).
In Jordan, MBC and Al-Jazeera ranked third and fourth, respectively,
in weekly reach, close behind domestic stations JTV 1 and JTV 3.
Pioneering satellite TV channels
energise Arab media market
It’s a brave new world in Arabic-language broadcasting say Carole Chapelier
and Ada Demleitner, Research Managers for the Middle East and North Africa
at InterMedia Survey Institute, Washington DC
Satellite Dish Access
The MBC building at Dubai Media City
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