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TERRESTRIAL TV IN THE ARAB WORLD 2009
T
he boom in the supply of free satellite TV channels in the Arab region seems to have stifled the terrestrial TV landscape. Local terrestrial TV stations are still alive in the region, but regulations and market dynamics have insured that -except in a few countries- the number of terrestrial TV stations did not grow in the past few years. These results were highlighted during Arab Advisors 6th annual media and telecoms convergence conference held in Amman on June 1 and 2, 2009 and attended by 533 delegates from over 180 companies spanning 25 countries. There are 129 terrestrial TV stations broadcasting in nineteen Arab countries. Palestine, Egypt and Iraq lead in the number of terrestrial TV stations, constituting 50.4% of total terrestrial TV channels in the Arab World. The majority of Palestine's and Iraq's terrestrial TV channels are privately owned and they constitute 83.6% of total private terrestrial TV channels in the Arab World. Egypt has the largest number of government owned terrestrial TV channels. A new report, “Terrestrial TV in the Arab World 2009” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Media Strategic Research Service subscribers on April 23, 2009. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 950. The 29page report, which has 24 detailed exhibits, MARCH
provides a detailed analysis of the terrestrial TV channels in the 19 Arab countries of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE and Yemen. Please contact the Arab Advisors Group to get a copy of the report's Table of Contents. "According to surveys conducted by Arab Advisors Group, terrestrial TV channels in the region still have a relatively large audience although much reduced than before the satellite TV era. In Lebanon, for example, 93.9% of respondents surveyed who watch TV said that they still have access to terrestrial television." Miss Noura Abdulhadi, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst wrote in the report. "Arab Advisors Group’s analysis reveals that the vast majority of the countries covered, still have full government ownership of the operational terrestrial TV channels,” Miss Abdulhadi added. “Of the 19 countries covered in this report, only Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Tunisia and Jordan allow private terrestrial TV channels. It is noteworthy that by April 21, 2009, Jordan's only licensed private TV channel (ATV) was still not operational. Sudan and Morocco have terrestrial channels that are jointly owned by the government and the private sector.”
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The Highly Circulated Satellite Magazine
2010