Fifty-five new free-to-air Sat TV stations have started broadcasting in the last 18 months, bringing the total to 155 FTA Arab Sat TV stations. Arab Advisors Group’s analysis revealed that the 55 percent growth in FTA Sat TV stations — some with excellent quality and expensive content — has increased the pressure on the Pay TV operators in the region. The three main Pay TV operators are cutting prices and expanding offerings in a bid to maintain a differentiated service according to a new report, “Satellite TV in the Arab World 2005,” released by Arab Advisors Group on July 7.
“The Arab world has witnessed a huge transformation in the TV industry over the past 10 years. The viewers in the region now have a large variety of TV choice available as terrestrial, Pay TV and free-to-air (FTA) satellite channels. There are two satellite systems providers that cater to the Arab region, Arabsat and Nilesat. Together these two satellites provide 155 free-to-air TV channels, more than 20 free radio stations and carry the TV and radio channels of the three main Pay TV providers in the region, ART, Orbit and Showtime,” said Judeh Siwady, Arab Advisors senior research analyst, who wrote the report.
Judeh added, “Pay TV operators have been struggling to gain more subscribers amid the flood of well-financed FTA channels. With the growth of the satellite free TV channels, the task is becoming more challenging. The year 2004 has witnessed an alteration in the strategies of most of the FTA channels in terms of program content, which now rivals that of the Pay TV channels. For example, the MBC network changed the content of its English entertainment channel, MBC2, and introduced the first free satellite channel exclusively broadcasting American movies and pushed its non-movies entertainment programs to MBC4. With the appeal and popularity of Western reality and game shows, and Arab TV stations buying the rights to remake these shows, viewers are increasingly getting wide choices from these FTA channels and many see no need to subscribe to any of the pay TV networks.”
