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Satellite television is officially banned in Saudi Arabia; that’s an interesting fact in a country where television is king. The relationship between Saudi viewers and their sets has been talked about by many a media publication, and most of this region’s advertising spend is geared towards Saudi consumers. But, technically, satellite television is not allowed. And Saudi terrestrial channels are few and – according to most – largely uninspiring in comparison to their region-wide counterparts. Those in the trade, though, say that satellite television penetration is at around 95 percent; the law has long been ignored, and that seems unlikely to change. However, programming and media representation are seeing some small-scale shake-ups that could be signs of larger changes to come.
Locally, the government-owned Saudi TV channel has been making some changes to its programming and its profile, notably with the introduction of The Cube, a regional version of a UK game show where contestants have to complete physical challenges inside a transparent box. Industry insiders say the show has been a success.
Pradeep Iyengar, general manager at Icom in Jeddah, says there may be more to come from terrestrial channels. “There is one more religious channel coming out, and there will likely be a dialogue channel which will be launched, where topics of public interest will be discussed,” he says. “So there is new movement happening.”
Choucrallah Abou Samra, managing director at OMD in Jeddah, says the changes from Saudi TV signal an improvement in its offering, and are an encouraging sign. “These are programming upgrades that were not seen before on Saudi television, and it is still a bit too soon to see the results, as they only began in March, so viewer changes are not available yet,” he says.
Jayant Barghava, a principal at Booz & Co., says the station has clear potential. “If there is anyone who can really challenge satellite television it’s Saudi TV, because of people’s affiliation to that channel,” he says. “If they get their programming strategy clear and appealing, they could make a significant impact. There’s a clear sense that they’re focused on revamping.”
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Information and Culture awarded the first satellite broadcasting license in the kingdom to the Saudi Comedy Channel (SCC) for a period of three years, also signalling a change to the terrestrial television scene. The funny thing is, Communicate was unable to contact the SCC for comment.
Ismail Madi, regional media director at Drive Dentsu in Jeddah, says there is more information in the market about terrestrial channels than SCC. “There hasn’t been a circular about it, but we know additional channels might be added to Saudi TV,” he says.
MURDOCH MOVES IN. Ownership of television is changing. In February, News Corp. announced it would buy a 9.09 percent stake in Prince Al Waleed bin Talal’s Rotana, in a $70 million deal. Rupert Murdoch’s organisation has been looking to expand its presence in the Middle East market, and Murdoch himself publicly came to the region to deliver the keynote address at March’s Abu Dhabi Media Summit.
While MBC remains the dominant network – by far – in Saudi Arabia, the deal between News Corp and Rotana has given the latter a more competitive edge. According to Barghava, it has given the Saudi television industry a more professional edge. “There is a growing sense of commercial-mindedness coming to the industry,” he says. “You see this translating in the form of more consolidations and partnerships. This increasing sense of commercialism with the growing interest of international players is definitely a trend, not a one-off. The Middle Eastern media market, with Saudi Arabia as a point of focus, is an un-penetrated market.”
Drive’s Madi says that one significant change took place around a year ago, when Al Jazeera obtained the rights to broadcast major football matches from FIFA, UEFA and other associations. Previously, sports channel ART held the rights to most international football, and in soccer-mad Saudi, the cost to viewers was prohibitively high. “The cost of subscription to Al Jazeera’s network is affordable, versus what people used to pay for ART,” says Madi. “People used to pay a lot of money to watch ART, especially the World Cup. This year, World Cup season will be at very reasonable cost.”

SELLING POINT. This, of course, means more viewers, which means more advertising for Al Jazeera. The network’s sales used to be handled by publisher and media rep Al Wataniya, but around the end of March, Q Media, a representation company closely tied to the government in Qatar (where Al Jazeera broadcasts from) took over the network’s representation.
In general, Al Wataniya hasn’t had much luck with television representation in the kingdom recently. At the start of this year, it almost took over the representation of Saudi TV from Creative Edge. At the last minute, though, the deal was halted and the incumbent kept the contract. Saudi-based Creative Edge was set up around five years ago by Assad Abou Jadayel, who previously ran AMS, the internal media sales arm of MBC. He founded his own agency around the time that regional sales giant Choueiri Group took over the management of AMS.
To keep pace with MBC, Iyangar says, Rotana has been “very smart” to tie up with News Corp. “In 2008, Rotana was almost non-existent in terms of viewership, and in 2009 it picked up,” he says. “But, overall, MBC 1 and MBC 4 dominate, then Saudi TV. LBC lost viewership partially due to its going away from the Choueiri Group [its media is now sold by Rotana], and last summer’s scandal.”
According to Barghava, this scandal, when the government shut LBC’s Saudi offices after a divorced father of four bragged about his sex antics on an LBC talk show, was an “exception, and not a rule”. “If it was a start up channel, then I’d understand if it were severely affected,” he says. “But LBC is a well-grounded channel, so I don’t think it’s of significance to note.” However, he does say that the gap is so wide between MBC’s dominance of Saudi television airwaves and the second, third, and fourth runners up that the market is “not rational.”
“In the long term, the market will rationalise,” says Barghava. Structural elements need to be resolved before Saudi television can move forward, though. The industry needs a transparent rating system, he says, and to raise the quality of its content. “If those issues are resolved, then the potential for the television industry is resolved,” he says.
“I think those two factors will rationalise the market,” continues Barghava. “The combination of international players bringing professionalism and commercialism and the overall industry addressing structural issues will lead to rationalism, as today’s clear dominance is irrational.”
And what about legalising satellite television in Saudi Arabia? “The issue is not under discussion, whether it’s about banning it or legalising it,” says Abou Samra. “It’s de facto that it’s available, and everyone’s watching.”

Booz and Co. princial Jayant Bagharva on the liberalisation of the Saudi television industry
“Clearly there is a progressive side to the Ministry of Information and Culture, as we’ve seen with the awarding of five private radio licenses, and they’re also actively talking about setting up people meters and media cities. So, clearly, you can see the industry going in the right direction, as the government is taking media to be an important industry.
“But I think awarding licenses to television stations is a lot less relevant than for radio; I don’t see satellite television going away from Saudi. However, there is no satellite radio in Saudi Arabia, so it’s a big thing to get a channel.
“More than 50 percent of people in Saudi Arabia are under 25 years old. That is a very significant demographic to note. When this generation grows up, their need for content and their affiliation to different platforms will be significantly different. So what is culturally conformist might change, and that is a challenge for the media.”

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