DAMMAM, 2 October 2003 — A study has estimated the growth rate of the Saudi audience for satellite channels at 4.6 percent, an increase that is having wide-ranging consequences.
A recent poll conducted by a Lebanon-based satellite channel for the superstar of the year revealed the extent of the popularity of satellite channels in the Kingdom. Nearly 11 million viewers from the Kingdom participated in the poll and heavily influenced the results.
The advent of satellite television has greatly affected both the terrestrial Saudi channels, which have been experiencing a steep decline in viewers. Many Saudis say they tune in to Saudi Channel 1 mainly for local news.
Three cable TV providers dominate the Saudi market. Awael (First Net) is the market leader, followed by Showtime and Orbit. The networks include in addition to premium channels more than 100 free channels.
Arab News last week reported that unauthorized digital decoders have swamped the market, and almost every second household in the Kingdom’s cities has a digital decoder giving access to some 200 free channels.
The 24-hour news channels Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya have caught the imagination of the Saudis, and anecdotal evidence indicates that they top the list of the most popular channels here.
Prior to the satellite channels, residents in the Eastern Province had access to several Arab terrestrial channels. Bahrain, UAE (Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah), Kuwait, Qatar and Oman were easily accessible in the Eastern Province by installing a tall antenna. Now that digital decoders are providing these channels and many more, tall antennas are fast disappearing from the rooftops.
The satellite channels have also given rise to participation of Saudis in many TV programs. The Arabic version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is an enormous hit and in almost every show a Saudi is seen competing for the jackpot.
A similar program, “Al-Kursi” on the Abu Dhabi channel, is also popular and thousands of Saudis line up to participate.
Taking into account the millions of non-Arab expatriates in the Gulf region, several Arab channels have launched separate English-language channels. Saudi TV itself has a separate English channel, as do almost all the GCC states. Commercial networks have also set up many new English-language channels in the last two years. The most popular among them is MBC’s Channel 2. In addition, ART, Nile TV and others also have separate English channels. Most of these channels are free and therefore have large audiences.
Social activists and scholars admit that the advent of satellite channels has revolutionized the concept of entertainment and information, especially in the Kingdom, but at the same time they express concern over the effect of some channels on children and young people.
“Some of the channels clearly have an adverse effect on the young,” Abdul Aziz Al-Mulhim, a sociologist in Dammam, told Arab News. “Young Saudis in shorts and reversed baseball caps with pop music blaring out of their cars are a common sight in the Eastern Province,” he said. “Every culture is rich in its own right, but imitating other cultures is not a healthy sign for any society, and unfortunately this disease is slowly creeping into our society,” he added.
Abdullah Al-Sadi, a social worker in Dammam, feels satellite TV is to blame for a number of societal ills. “These satellite channels are transmitting nudity and obscenity. It’s poisoning our young,” he said, adding he hoped that the government would do something to curb such excesses.
However, many people agree that banning of such channels and blocking of programs are not the solution. They say parental guidance and educating the young about the richness of Arab culture and civilization would be more effective in countering the negative influence of the satellite channels.
