More than 3 months have passed since the merger of two of the biggest players of paid TV in the Arab world, Showtime and Orbit. The network has started big advertising campaigns; one of these campaigns is the one that some Egyptian actors appear in to publicize that the network has 75 great channels now … These ads raise some questions in my mind about the future of paid TV in the Arab world and what will motivate and urge the viewer to subscribe to any of these networks…
In the beginning, the market share of networks such as Orbit and ART was big enough to cover their operating expenses and generate revenue, however during the last few years, Free to Air channels are no longer restricted to local government TV stations and cheap tries of some business investors; MBC started to open specialized new channels, first with MBC 2, then after a few years, MBC 4, MBC Action, and MBC Max … each one of these channels has its huge faithful audience … other channels began with a great start such as Dubai One but unfortunately, for some unknown reason, they stayed behind possibly because of financial reasons or bad management and I personally believe it’s that second reason… - the station never replied to business emails requests, no EPG until this day … etc… -
I have to mention two more powerful TV channels that only opened during the last year, the first is Fox movies and the second is Fox series, these two channels are not only a threat to other FTA channels such as MBC 2 but also they are a big threat to paid TV networks, specifically Showtime and Orbit.
Why should I pay money to watch my favorite series if I can simply watch them on free channels such as MBC Max or For Series; you might say the seasons are old, and paid TV offers the newest seasons to watch… NOT anymore, Fox series aired the series Mental the same time it started airing in the USA and they are now airing all the episodes of Lost from season 1 to season 5 and who knows, they might air the final season as soon as it starts airing in the USA, a clever move that would definitely make more viewers attached to Fox Middle East and choose it as their preferred TV station.
I believe Showtime and Orbit need to be more serious about the Arab viewer, relying on sports events and having 75 channels is NOT enough, quality is what the Arab viewer is asking for now; hot new series airing the same time as they air outside the Arab World and better diffusion quality, it is time to have all their channels in High Definition format.
Only with HD and new series will the Arab viewer be tempted to pay money to watch TV and forget about downloading his favorite episode of a certain series the second day…
What do you think? Share your thoughts.
Related:
- Showtime Arabia and Orbit Group Merge for New pay-TV
- Blockbuster Movies in Arabic on MBC
- MBC at the Top!
- MBC Action : Newest Family Member
- MBC 4 .. It's For You
- Fox Movies Coming to a TV Screen Near You!
i agreee...no one is going to pay for only 75 channels in the arab world when they can acess up to 2,000 channels on 5 satellites, if you have the right satellite, and that costs next to nothing, just installation... i think you right, they might up the interest of arab viewers if they offer the same shows and up to date seasons in their packages...
when i lived in kuwait, we used to see the Orbit channel ads all the time, but no one was actually willing to pay to get it....and thats in a rich country! no way the average man in blad el sham will pay for tv!
most arabs especially those in the khaleej have LCD TV which means they are keen to HD video, i dont live in the khaleej but i will subscribe to showtime or other network if they offer hd movies/ series channels for a good price
an lcd screen does not mean you have to have HD :P
You don't have ... but with HD receiver and HD channels, the picture is incomparable with most of the channels that are currently available. Try to play a movie in Blu-Ray format with a Blu Ray player or a play station 3 and you will notice the huge difference ... LCDs or Plasmas are not worth the money without HD channels!