70% of Arab Satellite TV channels have online sites
June 29, 2015
During April and May 2015, the Arab Advisors Group examined 724 fully operational FTA satellite TV channels targeting the Arab World to research their online presence. Of the analysed stations, 70 per cent (505 channels) have an online presence.
Spurred by the increasing uptake of the Internet service in the Arab World, many channels in the Arab TV industry have established an online presence. The Arab Advisors Group analysis reveals that 91 per cent of TV channels with an online presence have an enhanced presence.
An enhanced online presence includes channels that have corresponding portals. The portals portray the channels’ services and the integration between the satellite channel and its online presence is strong. Moreover, a number of satellite channels with basic online presence (where the integration between the satellite channel and its content and service availability is relatively weak) demonstrate their intention of enhancing their online services.
“The analysis reveals that a majority of the 505 channels that have an online site choose to have an enhanced online presence. Furthermore, 24.6 per cent of channels with an online presence generate online revenues from their supporting online presence, such as: online advertisement and online shopping,” Hind Qweider, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst wrote in the report.
“Almost 42.5 per cent of the satellite channels have online presence for promotional purposes only and do not aim at generating online revenues. 23.5 per cent of the channels that have online revenue generating features have an enhanced online presence,” Dalia Haddad, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst added.