The Lebanese Broadcast Corporation (LBCI & LBC-SAT) has unveiled plans to launch a pan-Arab version of NBC’s hit business TV show The Apprentice, with Dubai substituting New York as the corporate jungle. The 15-part series is scheduled to air in October, a month after the premiere of Showtime and Al-Aquariya’s CEO show, based on a similar concept. The overlap prompted a recent media spat between two of the shows’ hosts, resulting in a communications shutdown by LBC on the subject. “There has been a problem with regards to The Apprentice and we can’t talk about it to the media anymore,” an LBC aide confided.
Yet according to CEO executive producer Ziad Batal from Media Group, the competition will only do the business good. “We welcomed this initiative – the press invented all sorts of animosities between us, when there was none. The Apprentice will help promote more of these shows, which helps everyone’s cause.”
Joining the ever-expanding line of reality TV shows in the Middle East, The Apprentice pits several contestants against each other in a bid to showcase their business savvy. Contestants are teamed up and made to solve a variety of business problems, negotiate deals and manage projects. The losing team of each challenge sees one of its members fired by business mogul Mohamed Ali Alabbar, who hosts the show. The lucky finalist will walk away with a senior $300,000 a year position at Emaar-Dubai, the leading real estate development company in the Middle East, of which Alabbar is the Board Chairman.
A FremantleMedia franchise, the new show follows the growing trend of high expense reality TV shows which have caught on the Middle East. Playing it safe by avoiding cultural sensitivity landmines, such as mixed-gender housing facilities or compromising behavior, the show ought to have little difficulty attracting a profitable sponsorship deal.
Sponsorship contracts for shows such as Star Academy and Superstar average the $4 to $5 million range, whereas CEO has secured a $750,000 deal with its presenting sponsor and $350,000 from its gold sponsors. Added to this are the 30 second advertising slots during airtime, sold on average at $10,000 for the reality shows.
