More TV stations, less reason to change channel

There are now more than 500 free-to-air television channels in the Arab world, an increase of more than 10 per cent on last year, according to a report by the Arab Advisors Group.

Growth in the number of free-to-air TV channels is nothing new. The number of stations has been growing steadily, with an increase of 438 per cent between January 2004 and April 2011.

As of April 2011, there are 538 stations broadcast on the Arabsat, Nilesat and Noorsat satellites, Arab Advisors said today.

But this is no reason for regional media executives to rejoice. For an increase in the number of TV channels is not indicative of exuberant growth in the Arab world's media industry.

The reason for that is, out of these 538 stations, only a minority make serious money.

Television advertisers currently seek mass audiences - something that the majority of Arab stations distinctly lack. Many channels are loss-making, are run as vanity projects, or are owned by governments and do not have the same financial pressures as the private sector.

As Jawad Abbassi, the founder and general manager of Arab Advisors, told The National last year: "The 80-20 rule applies: 80 per cent of the audience follow 20 per cent of the stations. Some of the channels get very little audience share."

This is a shame, as there is room for more niche, targeted television stations geared towards specific populations. But the technology behind the mainstream Arab television industry does not favour this, because the same satellite-TV broadcasts get beamed out across the entire region, from Morocco to Oman.

Until that changes, the mindset of TV advertisers is likely to remain pan-Arab, rather than focusing on targeting specific countries. And while the number of stations may grow, the smaller stations are unlikely to flourish.