Popular television shows are heading for the
smaller screen, with the Middle East’s largest
broadcaster taking its content to the internet
and mobile phones.
After offering its popular Ramadan soap operas
online this month, MBC is moving at full speed
to offer entertainment over new mediums, with a
new internet-only comedy show launching next
month.
“This is an important new initiative,” said
Ammar Bakkar, the head of new media at MBC.
“Online is a major brand extension for MBC. When
our audience goes online, we want them to stay
attached to our brand.”
After a period of caution due to piracy and
copyright concerns in the early days of online
broadcasting, content owners such as television
networks and film studios are moving quickly
onto the internet, acknowledging that the medium
is now a central platform for their audiences.
The development of a viable online advertising
market – estimated to be worth at least US$50
billion (Dh184bn) globally this year – has
played a part. So, too, has the emergence of
viable internet-based entertainment businesses
like Apple’s iTunes Music Store, which is now
the world’s largest music retailer.
“We are still in the age of experimentation, and
so far this has been a great experiment. We may
be luckier than other websites because we
already have a strong set of advertisers,” said
Dr Bakkar.
The Dubai-based property developer Nakheel,
which was a sponsor of the televised series Bab
el Hara (Gate to the Alley) also sponsored the
online broadcast of the popular Syrian show.
“In 2007-2008 we saw a real change of attitude
among advertisers and marketing managers,” said
Dr Bakkar. “They really started to believe in
online advertising, and a lot of agencies now
have established digital departments, which
makes it much easier.”
Etisalat, which partnered with MBC to launch the
online television service, also sees advertising
in the new medium reaching maturity. Mohammed al
Mulla, who heads its new media department, said
the internet and mobile phones offered
advertisers clarity and precision in targeting
viewers.
“These technologies give you real statistics,
exact viewer numbers, what countries they are
from, how long they watched for, where they came
from,” he said. “It is a lot of detail, which
you can’t get from other media.”
As part of its partnership with MBC, Etisalat
offered its subscribers “mobisodes” of the
network’s Ramadan soaps. Viewers could watch
condensed four-minute summaries of episodes that
were airing the next day, streamed to their
phone over the mobile network. Interest in the
condensed episodes was “much higher than we
expected”, according to Mr Mulla, but neither he
nor Dr Bakkar would discuss viewer numbers.
Such content is broadcast over phone networks.
But the new DVB-H mobile television standard
adopted by the Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority (TRA) will let licensed broadcasters
transmit over public airwaves, direct to the
phones of viewers.
Mr Mulla said that while Etisalat intended to
acquire a DVB-H licence, the interactive,
on-demand aspects of television transmitted as
data over mobile networks meant the format would
remain relevant. “We are building our own
entertainment offering and we want to work with
everybody,” he said.
