Economic boom to fuel regional media's growth

The report, researched and prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the DPC, was released on the second and concluding day of the Arab Media Forum 2007 at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

The report covered six major Arab economies with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate ranging between 7.3 per cent for Morocco and 11 per cent for 2007 in the UAE.

Mona Al Marri, Chairperson of Dubai Press Club, said: "We have utilised the expertise of an internationally renowned organisation to conduct research in six Arab countries in the GCC, the Middle East and North Africa as well as the pan-Arab region.

"We have shared excerpts of the pilot report with various experts, and would be happy to receive your comments and suggestions as feedback for our next edition. Ultimately, this report aims at providing a strategic outlook for the development of the sector in the Arab world, especially decision makers, planners, policy makers and media establishments."

The research comprises interviews with heads and CEOs of various Arab media organisations, daily newspapers, TV stations, newswire services, media universities, and associations of journalists.

Dr. Amina Rustamani, Executive Director of Media, TECOM Investments, said: "The Arab Media Outlook is a reference for policy makers, syndicates, media personnel, regulators, financial investors, technology vendors and academics associated with the sector. It carries with integral messages, including the need to establish a solid convergence and communications module among all the media tools."

Presenting the report, Marcel Fenez, PricewaterhouseCoopers Media Leader, said: "With the potential for strong future growth, now is the time for the Arab media industry to walk the talk. It needs to address the issue of underinvestment in skill development and enhance the use of enabling technology.

"Increasingly impatient advertisers, who have a wide range of options, will turn away from the print sector unless the industry tackles the issue of providing accurate and consistent circulation numbers."

Hazem Galal, Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the UAE, said: "Those media organisations that invest in people will win the race in the new digital media world."

The report said the media sector must invest further in people, processes and technology if the growth potential is to be realised at a time when digital connectivity and content distribution have become a reality.

Several factors will drive the industry, indicated the Arab Media Outlook 2007-2011, adding both economic and demographic factors will provide a positive stimulus to the regional media's revenue growth.

"Such market expansion and growth in national productivity will spur media spend by businesses and people," he said.

The report indicated the expanding population in the Arab countries - 5.4 million in the UAE and 73.6 million in Egypt in 2007 - will also result in increased media spend.

The Arab Media Outlook revealed most of the population in the Arab world is young. "The generation adapts to new technologies faster and is more receptive to online content besides being high spenders - factors that reflect well for the growth potential of the media," said the report.

Although the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry will also expand rapidly, broadband growth will be uneven among countries in the Arab World with the highest rate of 28 per cent penetration in the UAE and 22 per cent penetration in Lebanon.

However, with other countries in the region registering lesser broadband household penetration, reliance will still be heavy on accessing news and information via the television that has more than 80 per cent penetration rate across the Arab world.

Convergence is also expected to show healthy growth. High quality video content via broadband and mobile phones will become more common in several countries, the report revealed.

News, which has become an add-on delivery for media content providers in the West, will continue to dominate the media scene in the Arab world for some time to come due to the increased interest in Iraq, Iran, the Levant and Palestine.

"There is still intense interest in news in the region with the coffee shop discussion culture showing no signs of slowing down," the report stated.

The Arab Media Outlook covers the most important issues affecting the regional media, providing industry and country projections and trends. It also examines the state of the industry throughout the region and explores the relationship between the media and its workforce, with particular emphasis on the development of organisations and people.

The two-day Arab Media Forum 2007 built around the theme "Developing People, Developing Organizations" is organized by the Dubai Press Club.

The forum is attended by over 600 regional and international delegates, including editors-in-chief of major print and the broadcast media, as well as leading journalists, columnists, academics, analysts, commentators and senior government officials.

The Arab Media Forum, being organised since 2001, is designed to open channels of dialogue between the Arab and Western media in order to promote better understanding amongst diverse schools of thought worldwide.