One of the World Economic Forum’s most animated debates was centered around “Race for an Audience: Media in the Middle East.” The region’s media landscape, especially in terms of television, has changed significantly over the past decade, from a bland menu served up by dozens of state-run broadcasters, to more than 400 mostly private broadcasters offering a mix of news and entertainment.
Partly due to rapid population growth, the Middle East ranks as the world’s fastest growing region in terms of media and advertisement income. Arguably the debate’s main question was if the increase in the quantity of channels has been, and will be, accompanied by an increase in quality.
Nakhle el-Hage, news and current affairs director at the Al Arabiya News Channel, noted that the region’s annual advertisement budget for TV measures only $800 million. He argued that the reason most news channels — other than Al Arabiya — survived was because they were not founded on a sound business model, but served “the interests of a particular state or political party.”
Bashing the competition
Hage mentioned Al Jazeera, Al Manar, Al Hurra and even France 24 and the BBC.
“None of these channels are meant to promote freedom of speech or make money,” he said.
Raja Trad, regional head of the advertisement firm Leo Burnett Group, praised Hage for his promotion of Al Arabiya and jokingly said he could not have done a better job himself. He went on to differentiate between news and entertainment channels and claimed that the world’s biggest brands avoid advertising on what he called “polarizing channels.”
The main problem facing the advertisement sector is that “the 30-years saga” continues, as there are no reliable surveys and statistics regarding viewership. Research firm Ipsos does publish figures, yet many many regard it as biased. Trad called for viewing meters to be installed in people’s homes, which would be to the advantage of advertisers and TV broadcasters.
Yet for that to ever happen, regional broadcasters would first have to come together and agree, which is highly unlikely, seeing the many different interests and mutual hostilities are at play. This state of enmity once again became apparent when Caroline Drees, Middle East Editor at Thomson Reuters, recalled American President Barack Obama’s recent speech on Al Arabiya.
Although everyone had just agreed upon the lack of reliable data, Hage bluntly claimed that Obama and the US government were well aware Al Arabiya was the region’s most professional and best watched channel. Once again his shameless promotion produced a few smiles and groans.
In the absence of an Al Jazeera representative, Zafar Siddiqi, chairman of CNBC Arabiya, subtly rebuked Hage. “If you agree with Al Jazeera or not, you will have to admit it has been a game changer,” he said. “And the reason for Obama to appear on Al Arabya surely has a lot to do with the negative perception of Al Jazeera in the US.”
What youth are watching
Marwan Jamil Muasher, former head of Jordan TV, turned attention away from the war of words between Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera by pointing out that Arab youth increasingly favor new media outlets, such as blogs and websites. Trad agreed and quoted a recent survey in Saudi Arabia that revealed Saudi youth spent more time browsing new media, such as Facebook and You-Tube, than watching TV.
The debate ended on a rather sobering note. The absolute condition for any media to flourish in terms of quality is the right of free speech. Yet the United Arab Emirates recently passed a new media law which introduces fines of up to $150,000 for “carrying misleading news that harms the national economy,” and fines of up to $1.5 million for “insulting” members of the government and ruling family.”
Unfortunately, the UAE is hardly the only Arab country characterized by censorship. Saudi TV-personality, Muna AbuSulayman, summed up the current state of affairs:
“The proliferation of channels is the result of an absence of stations that can offer all viewpoints in a respectful manner,” she said. “Right now, to get a comprehensive perspective, I need to watch several channels.”
Perhaps, in that sense, the current and future state of the Arab media looks bright after all.
