Analysis of MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge

Introduction

With the boom of globalization and the world’s growing love of celebrities, it was about time that the music and youth entertainment industry tapped into the consumer hungry Arabian market. MTV saw this opportunity as a move that could unite the Arabian population by showcasing local talent on a world stage, as well as bringing international stars into the region. The market for an international music channel in the Middle East was untapped at that time, but the market showcasing local music was saturated. Despite this, the region offered massive opportunities for growth if MTV could successfully translate and adapt their strategy into one that could be successful in a
When taking the relative disbursement of international music stars with local talent, this emphasis on Arabian music becomes very apparent. 45% of content is also created and produced locally in an effort to specifically provide to pan-Arab youth audiences.
MTV Arabia respected the culture by contributing to the Arab society alongside AMG and hiring culturally sensitive editors, but did not dilute its brand by not airing any of the material that makes it so popular in the first place. This mixed content strategy proved to be effective in catering to the local culture because they could edit out portions or omit programs all together that went against non-alcoholic, religious, or public sexuality traditions, yet still keep the comedy programs and reality shows; both of those examples would be made locally in order to better grasp regional tastes. Some examples of how MTV would censor MTV Arabia would be to edit music videos or just outright ban certain videos, or just moving them to a late-night schedule where they would not receive nearly as many views.
All of these points together equal a channel “made by the Arabs, for the Arabs” which is just another aspect of how MTV was able to gain traction. Involving the locals is a critical step towards being completely accepted and supported by all stakeholders.
Despite being a western company, MTV has shown a great understanding of the relatively highly