Arabic drama series viewing almost doubles during Ramadan

In addition to unique insights in the media consumption changes during the holy month of Ramadan, the survey also revealed that a major 94.3% of UAE Internet users read newspapers while close to 81% report reading books.

A new Arab Advisors online Media Survey of UAE's Internet users revealed that around 62% of UAE TV viewers change their TV viewing habits during the holy month of Ramadan.

The survey revealed that the UAE residents' TV viewing habits during Ramadan swing between two opposing trends: Some 20% watch TV more -especially between 3 to 6 hours- due to shorter working hours and the variety of programs TV stations compete to offer.

However, 34.2% watch TV less, possibly because they spend more time for prayers and socializing with family and relatives.

A new major online survey in the UAE was concluded by the Arab Advisors Group in March 2009. The survey report, UAE Media Survey of Internet Users 2009 was released on April 23rd, 2009 and provides the results of a major comprehensive online survey of the online community in UAE. The survey covered Television, Radio, Movie Theatres, and Newspaper and Book Readership.

The report 'UAE Media Survey of Internet Users 2009' has 87 pages and 111 exhibits. The Arab Advisors Group now avails a secure online payment option for purchasing its reports.

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. An investment in the report can also count towards attending Arab Advisors' 6th annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference on June 1 & 2 2009 at the Four Seasons in Amman.

Respondents were randomly targeted by receiving an email shot in their inbox to ask them to fill the survey in cooperation with reputable online operators.

The survey results encompass answers from 460 respondents that passed rigorous quality control checks. Quality control was conducted by Arab Advisors Group's team.

The survey was conducted on the general Internet population including both genders and age groups across UAE. The online survey yields a confidence level of 99% with a margin of error of less than 6%.

The survey analysis compares what respondents watch during Ramadan to what they watch during regular months. During the holy month, respondents tend to watch limited program types more, while other program types are watched to a lesser extent compared to regular months.

For example, Arabic series viewership almost doubles during Ramadan compared to regular months. As for other programs types -even news- viewership rates fall during the Holy month compared to viewership during regular months.

"The survey also had a specific section that probed newspapers and book readership. The survey revealed that nearly 94% of UAE Internet users read newspapers. Of the English newspapers, Gulf News and Khaleej Times topped the list. The survey also examined book reading habits among UAE Internet users. The latter stood at 80.9% of total respondents surveyed, with 41.9% of those mentioning reading between two to five books over a period of six months," Mr. Andrawes Snobar, Arab Advisors Research Manager, commented.

The Arab Advisors Group divided the survey questionnaire into five main sections: Television, Radio, Movie Theatres, Newspaper and Book Readership, and Most effective types of ads.

Television

• General TV viewing habits
• TV viewing habits during the holy month of Ramadan
• Movies, TV series and programs preferences
• Turkish series dubbed in Arabic
• Satellite TV
• Terrestrial TV
• Pay TV subscriptions (Cable, Satellite, IPTV)
• Purchase and rental of original DVDs versus copies.

Radio

• Radio listening habits
• Radio programs preferences
• Radio stations tuned to.

Newspaper and book readership

• Newspaper readership
• Book readership
• Book genres and language preference.

Movie Theatres

• Going to movie theatres and frequency.

Most effective types of ads

The Arab Advisors Group's team of analysts in the region has produced close to 1,500 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 Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom).

To date, Arab Advisors Group has served 540 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients.