We have a vision to build a brand that engages the local industry more closely in the exchange of information through a magazine, a web site as well as training workshops and seminars.
Welcome to the first edition of BroadcastPro Middle East – an issue that I hope will reflect the dynamic changes in the Middle East film and television broadcasting landscape.
One question I’ve been asked often last month is, “Does this market need one more magazine?”
My response is a resounding “yes”. I strongly believe that the Middle East market is a hugely underserved market in terms of Products, services and information.
This is a growing market. Despite the recession, the number of free-to-air channels catering to Arab viewers went up by 2.7% in the period between March 2009 and April 2010, according to the Arab Advisors. Many dormant state-backed players who rested easy on government funding have now moved into full gear in an attempt to become profitable.
Look at Saudi TV. The state broadcaster is looking to adopt a corporate business model so as to have greater accountability. Once the desire to be profitable kicks in, policies will begin to reflect that.
Al Jazeera, Orbit Showtime Network (OSN), MBC and more recently, Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) have all amazed us with the kind of technology they have deployed.
The same is true of the film industry. I was delighted to see The Circle, the first feature-length film directed by Emirati filmmaker Nawaf Al Janahi at DIFF last year. Seven years ago, Al Janahi had rued the lack of a film industry in the region and vociferously declared that he would continue to make films even if there were no government initiatives to support local filmmakers. Today, he and many others have the support of the Dubai International Film Festival, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, and even Imagenation. We even have twofour54 that invests heavily in Arabic content creation.
These changes within broadcast and film have created the need for a talent pool in the region.
At the same time, new technologies have called for new skills. In production, shooting with the RED camera has made the role of a DIT crucial while filming in 3D has made the services of a stereographer invaluable. Likewise, distribution of content across different formats such as IPTV, mobile TV and online has called for greater collaboration between IT and broadcast engineers and this, in turn, has given rise to a new generation of professionals that understand both technologies.
For such a market, that is still booming, there are not enough dynamic and interactive channels of information to educate and inform the industry about new technologies or new installations. Only a handful of local players even invest in local workshops to educate the local industry.
BroadcastPro Middle East wants to change that and open the lines of communication between different sectors of the industry. This magazine, along with its parent company CPI will extend the brand beyond a magazine and a Web site to include a blog, local workshops, roundtables and other events so that we can all share the role of educating, informing, learning and disseminating information among us. When we work together, we will better understand the challenges this market faces and together, we will contribute to equaling global standards. This is the ethos that BroadcastPro Middle East will create in this market and we trust you will walk hand in hand with us to fulfill this vision.
