Lebanon’s media industry is struggling to recover from $38.7 million losses it suffered this summer as a result of Israel’s devastating 34-day war on Lebanon.
Media experts said that it will take time and resources for media outlets to regain their footing after sustaining direct and indirect damages.
Direct losses included material damages caused to the stations, while indirect losses pertain to advertisement contracts, most of which were terminated during the war as TV coverage focused on war developments.
Direct damages affected mostly audiovisual media, as Israeli air raids struck transmission stations of Lebanese television and radio stations and flattened the head office of Hizbullah-affiliated Al Manar TV in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Indirect losses affected all media and were caused by a 40% drop in advertising income during the war, according to Walid Azzi, publisher of Beirut-based advertising industry magazine ArabAd.
The advertising losses hurt a media industry that is already struggling in a market that cannot sustain the large number of existing print and audiovisual outlets. At the same time, media are important for Lebanon’s economic freedom and democratic society.
Al Manar and LBC hardest hit
“The cost of operation of a single TV station is around $1.5 million per month, which is equal to $18 million per year,” Azzi said. He added that only one of Lebanon’s more than half-dozen commercial TV stations could exist on advertising income and stations had turned to other revenue sources, such as selling programs, seeking sponsorships and merchandising services and items linked to reality TV shows.
On the side of direct damages, Israeli attacks hit stations targeted for their political position in the Hizbullah camp and stations in other parts of the political spectrum.
Leading the sector in damages, Al Manar’s direct and indirect damages topped $16 million, reports an official for the station.
“When Al Manar was hit, broadcasting only stopped for two minutes. After that the station was up and running and continued its broadcast as usual,” he said.
The media outlet with the second-highest damages was the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), which operates terrestrial and satellite channels from a head office in Lebanon’s Christian heartland.
The station’s losses during the war amounted to $5.35 million, an LBCI official said on condition of anonymity.
“This is not exaggerated; it is 100% accurate,” he said, adding that three broadcast transmission stations were destroyed without affecting the national transmission of LBCI programming.
Future TV came third with $3.3 million of direct and indirect losses, according to Abdel Karim Sabbagh, chief radio frequency engineer at Future TV.
Advertising revenue lost
In addition to two broadcast towers hit by Israeli missiles, Sabbagh said the station’s indirect damages manifested in the cancellation of advertising contracts.
According to a list published by Lebanese newspaper an-Nahar, five other television stations suffered losses ranging from $350,000 to $2.65 million and seven radio stations were affected with damages amounting to a combined $6.2 million.
Despite these financial losses, Lebanon’s media sector maintained or even stepped up programming during the war, demonstrating its resilience in a time of crisis. Since the end of the war, stations have increased their efforts to stay up and running.
To ensure the survival of Lebanon’s radio and TV stations, the Union of Arab Broadcasters suggested Tuesday loan forgiveness for the stations, which carry an estimated cumulative debt burden of $760 million.
Azzi on his part called for stronger support of advertisers in the time of hardship. Companies wishing to promote their brands should not back off during wartime, but rather exploit such circumstances and uphold campaigns to ensure the continuity of their brand.
“You have to advertise during crisis in order to keep your brand alive,” Azzi said.
