Report- mtv networks: the arabian challenge

Introduction

Analysis
Quantitative Analysis

In the first part of our analysis we are trying to understand what MTV International (MTVI) was doing in the Arabic region, which parts of the Middle East they were particularly interested in, and at what time they were trying to do this.
In order to spread their network to the Middle East region, MTV launched a channel in partnership with Arabian Television Network (ATN) to broadcast not only entertainment to this region, but to take up social issues and try to contribute to Arab society through the airing or Arabic music and culture. Through this broadcasting arrangement, MTV hoped to use music as a unifying cultural force across regions. ATN was a part of the bigger Arabian Broadcasting Network (ABN). MTV entered in with local regional partner, Arab Media Group (AMG), an already established player in the Arab media industry. Therefore, channel MTV Arabia was formed as a result of a licensing arrangement between MTV and AMG. The arrangement allowed MTV to earn an estimated $10 million annually in license fees from AMG for 10 years. And having such a contract with a strong partner was vital for MTVN, as MTV Arabia was considered to be the biggest launch in MTV’s history in terms of impending audience at launch, with an expected market of 190 million people aged 25 and younger. Therefore, MTV’s reach would be considered quite substantial in this Arabic region.
MTVN was looking to launch their network in Saudi Arabia as a part of a ‘Global Expansion Policy’. The Middle East did not yet have an international music brand, although it already had numerous music channels. Thus, MTV was planning on entering a number of Arabian states at once, namely Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Palestine, and Syria. MTV Arabia was thought to be MTV’s most “ambitious and challenging venture” (MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge).
Prior to the merger of MTV