Satcaster aimed at Arab femmes
Al-Aan TV region's first 'infotainment' channel
Al-Aan TV, based in Dubai, has set its stall out as the region's first "infotainment" channel, pitching itself midway between the news-heavy skeds of Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya and the lighter entertainment fare of leading satcasters MBC, Dubai TV and LBCi.
"This is a new concept. We're not competing with anybody," says Zoya Sakr, Al-Aan's head of corporate communications.
Backed by a German-based shingle, the execs at Al-Aan spent two years prior to its late-August launch conducting market research on the Arab TV market and its 200-plus free-to-air satcasters to uncover any untapped niches. Their conclusion: a channel targeted toward the modern Arab woman on the move.
"No woman has the time to watch TV for three hours, so we have no serials or sitcoms. All our shows are between 30 and 45 minutes," Sakr says.
In addition to a 15-minute news bulletin every hour on the hour, Al-Aan offers nine other programs, ranging from fashion and cooking to, inevitably, gossip.
"It will be smart gossiping, though," quips Sakr. "We really want to empower and educate our audience."
Al-Aan will produce all its own content, leaving it free to avoid the regular bidding wars for formats among other major satcasters in the region. The channel has two major production centers, with 60% of its shows made in Beirut and the remainder made in Dubai.
While the recent war in Lebanon added to the already hefty challenges of launching a new satcaster, execs at Al-Aan remain confident they will be able to establish themselves on the Arab TV scene. Not that it will be easy. The region's No.1 satcaster, MBC, has a dedicated women's channel, MBC 4, which specializes in Western programming such as "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil," while Dubai TV and LBCi have their own programming aimed at the lucrative femme demographic.
"By the end of the year people will know the names of our programs and the faces of our anchors," Sakr says. "We know that the field is very big and competition is high, but we believe we're offering something unique and new."
The most pressing priority for execs at the new channel is to gain a foothold, particularly in the Persian Gulf market. The conservative kingdom, along with the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council, accounts for some 85%-90% of pan-Arab satellite TV advertising.
"Our research really focused on Saudi Arabia, and we've employed a big marketing push now in the UAE and Saudi," Sakr says.
