Dubai goes aggressive with new media launches
Dubai is, by far, leading the region in so many aspects, but when it comes to media, and specifically TV, Dubai is still in the process, the top Pan Arab TV stations are owned by countries other than the UAE; Al-Jazeera is owned by Qatar, Rotana network and MBC Group are Saudi ventures, Egypt owns the Melody network, while Lebanon, along with Saudi investors, owns Future & LBC.
However things changed, couple of years ago Dubai TV did a major rebranding exercise and became much better in terms of the image and the programs. MBC2’s rival, One TV, rebranded to Dubai One TV, personally I though they were trying to benefit of Dubai’s growing popularity to promote the channel, but I have to say Dubai One is one of my favorite TV stations now. In addition, Dubai Media Incorporated has launched two more stations; Sama Dubai and Dubai Sports.
Recently the Arab Media Group raised the bar and launched two major international TV stations, MTV Arabia and Nickeldeon Arabia. I was reading on the Arabian Business about a new TV station that will be launched on the first day of Ramadan, Noor Dubai is a 24-hour TV station that will broadcast several shows about issues that concerns families in the UAE and the Arab world, the station will be in Arabic, and will be followed by an English version next year.
But this raises a question about the potential that Dubai sees in these new developments, according to the research firm, Arab Advisors Group, TV advertising rates dropped down due to the high competition between the growing number of TV stations in the Middle East, and yet TV catered more than 48% of the total advertising spends in the Middle East last year, followed by Press, which catered 46%.
The current advertising scene, which is obviously monopolized by few titans, will not allow any growth for the rest of media such as online and outdoor.
This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Arabia, Marketing, Media, Online, UAE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
on August 24, 2008 at 10:30 pm Alex wrote:
mmm, I think these guys would need to aquire - check out H2O New Media in Dubai or Flip Corp both have an interesting media company in Dubai - companies like H2O have seen business go from zero to 3-4M USD in six months simply by creating customised social media channels for companies - I think they are more interesting than the existing players which are finding it hard to wrap thier heads around or move at the speed required by the new media wave - what these guys dont seem to get is that they are ploughing cash into media vehicles that are pretty much defunked - IPTV and IP platforms, mobile media etc is where the market growth is - I personally wouldnt invest in the existing media companies in the Middle East - I dont think they have the know how to understand which direction they would take and when it comes to media any one of the big ten media companies, vivendi, disney, time warner etc which are courting little companies like H2O all the time understand based on being burnt in the past that thier Middle East future lies in the aquisition of the smarter little guys in these markets - I am certainly watching flip, H2O New media, next new networks in the Middle East. Bet they wont be around for long before they get eaten.
on August 25, 2008 at 11:31 pm Samer Marzouq wrote:
Unfortunately Alex marketers in our region are still failing to adopt online in their communications for many reasons, for instance online advertising in the Middle East still caters only 0.6% of the total spends.
Online media in the Middle East won’t progress, not in the coming 10 years, until professionals in the marketing industry realize that they don’t have another options but to adopt the internet as a basic element.
on September 9, 2008 at 11:52 pm A Condron wrote:
Samer - I understand what you are saying but i think you will see that advertising companies are about to find that the industry will change around them - whilst they are focused on an old model of doing business. What companies need to understand is that media itself is changing - really it is, and advertising by its very nature is turning to be an influence business. I know the owner of H2O and I can tell you that given that the guy is a freaking guru when it comes to getting companies established (My recruitment business has increased revenue by 800%) I really think looking at % of spending for advertising for FMCG is not a real window on how to get things delivered. Online media is the new media - its just that the Middle East is slow. My site http://www.concurme.com is a prime example of exactly how a small business can boom without spending on advertising - it maybee that I am an H2O convert but what I can say is that is has worked for me and if it works for me then other companies will soon catch on independent of metrics. I think there will be a big swing and it will be away from advertising in print, TV and radio. Esp when you consider the population of the Middle East is mostly under 25 and they are all online. Comments welcome. Also check out growth in companies like twitter and Digg.
on September 29, 2008 at 7:27 pm Triptta wrote:
I am an H2O convert to, it has to be said when it comes to getting the job done in a difficult market and getting a consultant in the door that knows what they are talking about Steve and his team are certainly in a league of thier own for this market. Our site http://www.ascent-world.com provides a complete online Learning Management Community - developed and delivered by H2O in just two months - when it comes to marketing my leadership training company to senior level executives in the Middle East my learning management community provides me with a real competative advantage. I am an H2O fan.