Possibly as a result of high competition, Arabic Sat TV Advertising Rates have dropped between 2004 and 2005.

February 01, 2006

An analysis of ad rates in major Sat TV channels in Arab Advisors Group reveals that Al Jazeera News Channel has the highest average ad rate. Underlining the popularity of reality TV shows in the region, MBC 1’s contest show, “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire”, had the highest ad rate for a 30 second TVC.

Published TV advertising rates in the Arab World depend on various factors such as the program aired, the TV channel and the time of day. Popular shows, such as Future’s “Superstar”, LBC’s “Star Academy” and MBC’s “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” have much higher rates than regular programming. Time of day is another factor; the peak times, associated with the highest rates, occur between 9 pm and 12 midnight. Hitherto, the Arab world lacks an objective TV viewing rating system that can indicate the audience size and market shares of each TV channel. As such, advertisers, ad agencies and TV stations rely on their custom periodical survey research. This, the Arab Advisors Group believes, is sub optimal as survey findings – commissioned by one party like a TV station - may not be acceptable to third parties such as advertisers.

A new report, “TV Advertising Rates in the Arab World 2006” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Media Strategic Research Service subscribers on January 23, 2005. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 950. The 50-page report, which has 50 detailed exhibits, compares and analyzes the advertising rates of various TV stations that target the Arab region. The TV stations covered include Free-to-Air satellite channels, Pay-TV operators and local terrestrial TV stations. The FTA channels are categorized according to their type of programming. The types of channels covered are General Entertainment, Western Entertainment, News and Children’s channels. As for Pay-TV, the report covers the ad rates of the three main providers in the region: The Arabian Radio and Television Network (ART), Orbit and Showtime. In addition, local TV channels were chosen from Jordan and Egypt.

Any investment in this report will count towards an annual Strategic Research Service subscription should the service be acquired within three months from purchasing the report.

The investment can also count towards attending Arab Advisors’ third annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference on June 6 & 7 2006. More information on the conference can be seen at http://www.arabadvisors.com/Convergence/schedule.htm Alternatively contact the Arab Advisors Group for full information on the conference, agenda and sponsorship opportunities.

Please contact the Arab Advisors Group to get a copy of the report’s Table of Contents.

“Arab Advisors Group’s analysis shows that TV advertising rates in the Arab region have actually dropped considerably since 2004,” Mr. Judeh Siwady, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst wrote in the report. “When averaged, the 2004 advertising rates of MBC, MBC 2, Future, LBC and Al Jazeera exceed those of 2005 by around 1,000 US$ for a 30 second TV commercial spot. In 2004 the average of the channels’ rates was 3,103 US$ while 2005 averaged 2,180 US$, a drop close to 30%. The Arab Advisors Group believes that this drop in rates is a result of the very tough competition in the FTA Satellite TV market” Mr. Siwady added.

The Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region has already produced close to 510 reports on the Arab World’s communications and media markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom). To date, Arab Advisors Group has served close to 350 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients.