Satellite, Cable Firms In Mideast Competition
Friday March 7 2:50 PM EST
By Rana Sabbagh
DUBAI, March 7 (Reuter) - Global and regional satellite and cable operators are battling for a slice of the Middle East's rapidly growing market for free and pay-TV channels, industry executives said on Friday.
The regional satellite industry boom has also sparked debate on whether many of the 230 million Arabs inhabiting vast areas of land stretching from North Africa to the oil-rich Gulf need analog or digital satellite TV technology, they added.
In the long-run, most believe digital TV will replace analogue.
The industry's concerns were highlighted during the third Middle East International Cable and Satellite Exhibition (Cabsat'97) which opened in Dubai this week.
"Competition in the market is getting fiercer as everybody wants to be in," Elizabeth Christy, head of corporate communications at the Rome-based Satellite Television and Radio Network Orbit, told Reuters in an interview.
"We are finding our growth to be extremely rapid," since the eight-channel Orbit launched its pay-TV in the Arab World in 1994, she said.
"There are no obstacles to our growth...the only obstacle at the outset was a fairly high decoder price and a sort of misunderstanding of what pay television was all about."
Christy said they planned to hit Morocco and Tunisia by September, two major markets where state broadcasters remain heavily involved in programming and transmission.
Figures on regional market trends, including satellite pay television services, have not been released.
However, major pay-TV broadcasters in the Arab world are expecting to increase their market share over the next few years. But they know their survival in a price-conscious market will be dictated by quality and price.
Both News Corp's Star TV and Showtime are currently boosting their direct-to-home satellite services by adding more channels to their digital platforms.
Dubai-based Showtime forecasts that by the end of 1999, its package will attract 170,000-200,000 subscribers in the region.
On Wednesday, it announced the launch of an upmarket channel for women after extensive market research.
Current estimates suggest there are approximately 10 million TV households throughout the Arab World -- four million of them in Saudi Arabia and densely-populated Egypt.
Showtime is a joint venture between Kuwait Investment Project Company and Viacom Inc of the United States.
Dubai Cable Vision, owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Radio and Television-Dubai, is counting on a package of 10 channels and modest cost to boost sales across the area.
Multi-billion dollar regional projects, especially satellite launches, will also boost the TV satellite industry in the region, the executives said.
The Arab Satellite Organisation (Arabsat), which offers 60 TV and telecommunications channels, is planning to launch the second of its new generation of satellites in early 1997.
UAE telecommunications corporation Etisalat is planning to launch two satellites in the coming years and Egypt will launch its "Nilesat" by 1999.
But cable and satellite operators say state interference, especially in conservative countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, is hampering growth.
Reuters/Variety |
