An Egyptian summer is hot. In Aswan, a southern city, the temperature frequently passes 50°C. In Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, it’s in the mid-40s. In the capital, Cairo, temperatures hover around 35°C. With air-conditioning too expensive for most people, you might think that a low-income Egyptian family’s priority purchase would be a small refrigerator to make ice, keep drinks cool and prevent food from spoiling in the sweltering climate. But you’d be wrong.

 

As soon as they can afford it, most working-class Egyptians rush to purchase a TV set, either with cash or on installment terms. This surprising statistic speaks volumes for the popularity of television in the land of the Nile. “TV is without doubt the mass medium in Egypt. Given that the bulk of the population is still illiterate, it is the only means of reaching the masses in a simple language they can decode,” says Tamer El Naggar, Synovate’s  Managing Director for North Africa.

 

Since the introduction of satellite broadcasting to the country at the start of the new millennium, TV is becoming more popular. Egypt is, in effect, under-going its third tele-revolution. In 1960, the cathode-ray tube arrived, bringing one state-run channel to Egyptians. That soon became three. In the late 1980s and early 90s, a plethora of new regional channels sprouted – Channel 4 targeting the Delta, Channel 5 for Alexandria and Channel 8 aimed at Upper Egypt. Now the age of satellite has begun.

Satellite of life

 

“These private channels allow more freedom in discussing political, social and economic matters,” explains Noha Aly, Synovate Egypt’s Qualitative Research Manager. “This has made talk-shows and news programmes more interactive and relevant to the lives of ordinary Egyptians. Satellite TV has also brought specialist channels devoted to music, movies, sport and religion – and they operate round the clock.” Not everyone can afford a satellite subscription, but that doesn’t dampen anybody’s enthusiasm. Piracy is rife, with people blithely hooking into their neighbour’s link, or that of a nearby café.

 

Politics and religion are the biggest draws. “There is a hunger for programmes that tackle hot social issues, as opposed to those put out by the government-censored channels,” says Aly, adding that the quality of religious programmes on satellite is “far superior” to the officially sanctioned ones.

 

Particularly popular is the young, reformist preacher Amr Khaled, who appears on IQRA and has been dubbed the world’s first Islamic televangelist. His shows, featuring straight talk and humour, are part of the Sunni Muslim-centred Arab Radio & Television (ART) network. Leading journalist Hamdy Qandeel’s Alam Rosas (“Pencil”) is a big lure on Dubai TV. And hard-hitting news networks such as those of Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya and the BBC appeal to male viewers tired of terrestrial TV, which only features government opinion. When conflict flares in trouble spots such as Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, ratings figures shoot up.

 

On the other hand, women are drawn to the Arabic series and gossip shows that are a big feature of the Middle East Broadcasting Channel (MBC), and locally owned stations such as Dream and Mehwer. Beauty tips by gurus such as Jwal and Amina Shelbaya, cooking programmes by the likes of Osama Atyab, and celebrity interviews attract the largest female audiences.

 

Like most countries, young children in Egypt are constantly tuned in to the cartoon channels, while teenagers go for the mix of Arabic and English video clips shown on channels such as Mazzika (Music), Melody Hits and Rotana.

 

Egypt is also a major exporter of Arabic soap operas such as Ra’fat El Hagan, a spy series, and Layly El Helmyea (Nights of Helmmia), which tackles the rich-poor divide in society. Oprah Winfrey-like confessional talk-shows, Hala Show and El Beet Beitak (This House is Yours), are also big sellers throughout the Arabic-speaking world.

 

As in homes the world over, the battle for control of the remote is a nightly feature of domestic life in millions of Egyptian households. When it comes to sport and politics, dad usually wins, while mum will often forego a favourite programme in deference to the kids’ preferences. She will usually keep the TV on all day to keep her company while performing her household chores.
Insert jingle here

 

As disparate as Egyptians’ viewing habits are, the ultimate prize for advertisers are the programmes watched by the whole family at peak viewing hours – especially during the holy month of Ramadan, when households break their dawn-to-dusk fast. “Families gather around the dining table every day at sunset to have their iftar, fast-breaking meal, and watch TV. Soap operas and specially produced shows are the favourites. Advertisers often pay double the normal rate for spots at this time and the ad agencies compete to stand out from the clutter. Sales of TV sets also peak during this period,” explains El Naggar.

 

For advertisers, Egypt is a complex market to get a handle on, though more and more money is being spent on satellite TV these days – with the exception of the Ramadan “family favourites”.

 

Commercial breaks vary widely from channel to channel, but viewer patience seems to run higher for ads than in North America and Europe. The average number of spots shown in a break is five or six, but ads are sometimes run in blocks of up to ten minutes’ duration.

 

Music and humour are still the main hooks (animation and special-effects techniques have yet to make much impact). “Egyptians are known for their sense of humour; they are simple, humble people in the main, so the most attractive advertising approach is a humorous one. These are the ads that stick in people’s minds. And if they contain a memorable jingle, or a catch-phrase that becomes common currency, so much the better,” says Dina Ghandour, a qualitative researcher at Synovate’s Cairo office.

 

TV’s position as prime target of advertising expenditure seems secure. The advent of new radio channels, such as Nougoum FM (playing Arabic pop music) and Nile FM (specialising in Western pop), has made some inroads into the TV ad-spend, but most major campaigns cover all media, including print and billboards. Elaborate animated billboards have begun to appear in Cairo, but they are by no means a countrywide phenomenon yet.

 

Counterpoint

 

What effect has the soaring popularity of TV in Egypt had on society in general? According to Aly, last night’s programmes are still the number one talking point at the market, in offices and over the phone. With Friday observed as a sacred day and families obliged to stay at home after visiting the mosque, people are champing at the bit to go out over the weekend. And that means the traditional social life has not been unduly affected by a TV addiction.

 

But increasingly, voices of dissent are being raised against the tyranny of the tube. Opinion in the media and among the chattering classes is split fairly evenly. There are those who think that young people are being polluted by decadent foreign influences, and others who believe that satellite channels offer a wider window on the world and therefore create a more sophisticated outlook.

 

Interestingly, the introduction of more balanced religious channels has been hailed as a positive factor. According to Aly, they are seen as giving young people a greater awareness of their faith and making them “more conservative” in their attitudes. In other words, they are, not so tempted by the dissolute pleasures of the West.

 

One of those pleasures, being entertained by what’s happening on a small screen in the corner of the room, is unlikely to be abandoned any time soon. If Egyptian TV is at the stage that European TV was at a decade ago, and American TV a decade before that, then there is plenty of mileage left in it – for viewers and advertisers. Stay tuned.