CABSAT 2022 WRAP-UP

CABSAT 2022: IT’S A WRAP!

The broadcast industry focused on the ongoing issues surrounding consumer mindset shifts in content consumption, as content producers came together on the opening day of CABSAT 2022, the Middle East and Africa’s most competitive event for the satellite, broadcast and filmed content industries

The event hosted more than 200 brands from 35 countries, with dedicated pavilions for Bavaria, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, amid the region’s transition from content consumption to content creation. Industry leaders including Arabsat, Nilesat, TECOM Group, Turksat, Qvest Media, Ross Video,

Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, Director General of Dubai Department of Information, officially opened CABSAT 2022 .

Evertz Microsystems and the Space Agency of Azerbaijan Republic addressed the future of the industry under three main conference pillars: SATExpo Summit, NextGen Content and Content Congress.

The Content Congress opened with a keynote speech from Majed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director of Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City. He identified the growing number of entrepreneurs and Dubai’s shift to attracting talent as well as corporations as a driver of the media industry.

“We are fostering the right landscape and ecosystem for entrepreneurs to thrive. Over the past year, we have seen an influx of business as they invest here

Majed Al Suwaidi, MD of Dubai Media City, Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City, addressed the gathering at CABSAT 2022.

and see the potential of government reforms to support the media sector. CABSAT has become a platform of potential, especially this year as it offers numerous opportunities with our focus changing to attract not only companies but also pioneering individuals.

“Our commitment going forward is entrepreneurship-focused, and at TECOM Group we take it very seriously. We invest heavily in creating the right infrastructure through our in5 arm, which recently saw the introduction of a new dedicated space to accommodate angel investors, venture capitalists and institutional investors at the heart of in5 Tech Centre in Dubai Internet City.”

The Content Congress saw industry trailblazers explore the latest trends in the metaverse, NFTs, social content, streaming wars, podcasts, vlogging and music content. In attendance were representatives of prominent businesses such as Twitter, Meta, Rotana Media Group, MBC, Starzplay, Disney Plus, Dubai Media City, Creative Media Authority & Abu Dhabi Gaming, CNBC Arabia, Saudi Arabia’s Media Rating Company (MRC) and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. broadcasters to discuss how content reaches consumers and the intricate decision-making processes made to ensure consumers are happy and businesses stay profitable when the traditional and digital fight for the spotlight.

Wael Mohammed Al Buti, VP & Chief Commercial Officer, Arabsat, stated that focus on localisation and quality is key to consumer satisfaction on the back of continued satellite adoption. “We have been operating since the 1980s and have become the leading satellite service provider in the Arab world. Usually at Arabsat we don’t look at quantity, but rather the quality and how we can better serve a specific market. Off the back of new channel launches in Lebanon and Jordan, a recent MENA satellite penetration study we conducted revealed that satellite has a 97% market share in this region. We have seen an increase in the number of HD receivers being used.”

Also on the panel was Yuliya Fischer, Director at ZDF Studios GmbH, one of the largest broadcasters in Europe. “Our content is predominantly German, but we are looking at co-production opportunities here in the Middle East,” said Fischer, who oversees acquisition and sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. “We produced The Killing, The Bridge, etc, which really educated us on what binge-watching is – this was before Netflix and Disney+. There is an appetite for content not only from Hollywood, and consumer burnout is becoming a thing. If the quality of content is great, there will be people that want to watch it.”

Targeting consumers with content

A panel discussion attracted leaders from regional and international

Wael Mohammed Al Buti, VP & Chief Commercial Officer, Arabsat, spoke about content localisation at CABSAT.

DISCOP Dubai concludes; coproduction salon big hit at show

DISCOP Dubai concluded last month, having attracted 565 participants at its first edition since the pandemic. The three-day market brought together 89 companies offering content, formats and adaptation rights, and 184 programmers and acquisition and commissioning executives representing 121 MENA broadcasters, premium channels, pay-tv services, OTT platforms and telcos.

A strong focus on co-productions gained a lot of traction during the event. More than 36 compelling films, TV series and animation projects from nine Arab countries were pitched to more than 100 buyers and production partners committed to investing in and promoting Arab creators.

Heba Korayem, Content Market Consultant, H Consult, said: “I’ve personally witnessed four deals being negotiated and closed in just the couple of hours that I was within those walls on the second day. It makes me happy, because that’s investment in Arabic entertainment happening right there. We had some really popular companies hang out at the salon, such as people from Shahid, StarzPlay, beIN, OSN, Dubai TV, Abu Dhabi TV and so on. Equally, we had an amazing turnout from Arabic production houses that came prepared with some solid pitches." DISCOP Dubai 2023 will take place at the beginning of May, a few days after the end of Ramadan. Final dates will be announced shortly.

Social media giants to focus on content creators

Another panel discussion saw Kinda Ibrahim, Twitter’s Director of Content Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa, and Moon Baz, Meta’s Creator Partnerships Lead for the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, discuss the creator economy boom and the role of social media. Both revealed that their platforms are shifting focus to content creators, an economy valued at $100bn.

Speaking of younger generations, Ibrahim said: “Millennials are cutting cords. Both Gen Z and Alpha are not mobile first, but rather mobile only. Not only in terms of consumption, but also creation. With only a mobile phone, they can create very engaging content. It’s more relatable, authentic and relevant, which translates as more eyeballs and for brands is more relatable to potential customers.”

Baz noted that video now makes up 50% of user time on Facebook and 20% on Instagram. “We haven’t focused too much on creators in the past, but this is now where we are focusing. Our

Kinda Ibrahim, Director of Content Partnerships, MEA, Twitter.

Moon Baz, Meta’s Creator Partnerships Lead for MEA and Turkey, discussed the creator economy boom at CABSAT.

investment in Facebook Watch and Reels underlines our commitment to creators, and while we already have monetisation tools – ads, subscriptions, paid online events, etc – we are now testing a Reels Bonus Programme in the US as part of a $1bn investment. It will in time be rolled out worldwide.”

Linear TV in news of the future

Elsewhere, news creators discussed the challenges of adopting subscription models in the Gulf and how such models impact revenues on linear TV platforms. Riad Hamade, Director of Business News at Asharq Business with

Arab HDTV Group concludes meeting with election of new bureau

Delegates with the Group's new and old bureau members.

The 15th annual meeting of the Arab HDTV and Beyond Group took place at the Novotel World Trade Centre, Dubai on May 18. Chairman Hasan R. Sayed Hasan presided over the meeting, with Group Vice-Chair Dr Fares Lubbadeh. More than 70 industry professionals representing Arab national and private broadcasters, regional and international systems integrators, manufacturers, and service providers attended.

Hasan updated attendees on the status and growth statistics of HDTV and ultra-HDTV in the Arab world. He presented figures about HD satellite growth in the Arab world, categorising channels in terms of orbital position, FTA versus encrypted, genre, origin and language.

Since 2009, HDTV channels on regional satellites have grown to 476 unique channels at the end of March 2022, he reported. On the global level, ultra-HD services, both linear and VOD, are growing relatively slowly, with 234 commercial services (both linear and OTT) globally in May 2022. Five of these are in 8K (with no growth for the last two years).

Bassil Zoubi, ASBU Director of Technology and Development, briefed the Group about the outcome of the Arab Media Congress held in Tunisia in October. He discussed digital media, multi-platform production and distribution, OTT services, and regulatory and legal issues. Representatives from Quortex, Imagine Communications, Red Bee Media, twofour54, Lawo and Kinetiq looked at developing trends in their various areas of expertise.

According to Group policy of electing a new board after a term of three years, Dr Lubbadeh was elected as new Chairman, with Samir Assiri, Consultant at Saudi Broadcasting Authority, as first Vice-Chair and Dhaker Baccouch, CEO of Tunisian Broadcasting Corporation (ONT), as second ViceChair. The members also called for Dr Riyadh Kamal Najm to retain his role as Honorary Chairman.

Bloomberg, identified credibility as a barrier for news outlets in the region to make the jump behind a paywall.

“Most of us haven’t built up the credibility yet – it will take us time. When you look at examples of established Western media outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or Bloomberg, they are successful with their subscription packages, but that’s after they have built their credibility, the foundation of journalism and news analysis. As Arab media outlets, we too have to offer something that is so good to make sure people do not question a subscription-based model.”

Considering revenues across platforms, Loubna Fawaz, Head of Content at CNBC Arabia’s TV and Digital division, opined that traditional TV still captures the lion’s share. “Our primary stream of income is coming from traditional TV. We do understand our audience and we do cater to what their needs are; through that, we have built a relationship of trust with our viewers. At the same time, we are trying to diversify how we transmit content to cater to a new audience.”

Hamade agreed: “Linear TV is still the most visible for us. However, we are looking at different revenue streams, including live events and our social media platforms, which are other forms of getting information out there. We have to accept that there isn’t just one way to reach people – we cannot just be a TV station, we cannot just be a website. We have invested a lot of money and we want to reach the young, specialist audience.”

Creating original hits for children

Executives from studios producing children’s content discussed how certain themes and technologies are seeing continued gains when it comes to content creation, and that successfully creating an original piece of intellectual property (IP) can mean more flexibility when deciding on how to monetise the characters beyond the screen.

Kamel Weiss, GM and Director of Business Development at Spacetoon TV, said: “The children’s content market is pretty underserved. You don’t see a lot of broadcasters focusing on creating that next blockbuster original. At Spacetoon, we don’t just broadcast content. We license as well as diversify into gaming as a way to bolster revenues and deliver more content to consumers. Originals are the best way to grow a brand and then monetise, because of reduced red tape, a result of others not owning the IP.”

Mariam Al Serkal, Head of Majid Kids at Abu Dhabi Media, added: “It took us a while to grasp what makes content stand out. The beauty of children’s content is that it is very flexible and can be dubbed to many languages. We have taken the step of establishing our own in-house studios, which now employ a team of more than 40. This was a great move for us and helps us be nimbler with our original IPs.”

Riad Hamade, Director of Business News at Asharq Business.

SATEXPO Summit speakers discuss space debris

Industry experts from the satellite sector looked at some of the ongoing issues surrounding space sustainability and the threat of space debris on the opening day of CABSAT 2022. Running in tandem with the Content Congress, the SatExpo Summit 2022 saw guest speakers from around the world discuss the challenges posed by space debris. With more than 900,000 pieces of debris in space but only 20,000 catalogued, orbital congestion and sustainable, responsible space management are among the hottest topics in the satellite industry.

Alessandro Cacioni, Director of Flight Dynamics, Inmarsat, noted that a collision with a piece of debris measuring just 1mm can cause power failure. As a result, better tracking and firmer regulation – rather than recommendation without obligation – is essential.

“When I talk about space debris to non-space people, they visualise the movie WALL-E and think there is going to be a huge circle of trash encircling our planet – that’s not the case, fortunately,” said Victoria Samson, Washington Office Director at the Secure World Foundation. “What it is going to do is make certain orbits too costly or risky, so we will lose the benefit of those orbits.”

The impact of losing such orbits can be found in the human reliance on satellites. Whether it is the internet, television or mobile phones, in the words of Laith Hamad, VP, Government and Regulatory Engagement & Board Member, OneWeb NEOM Joint Venture: “Satellites are embedded in our life.”

Cacioni, charged with keeping the Inmarsat fleet secure, revealed that half of all the debris in space has been caused by just three collisions, none of them involving active satellites. Hamad urged government licensing. “Just now satellites must be deorbited within 25 years – that is a long time,” he said, adding that Inmarsat’s fleet is designed to deorbit and uses materials that disintegrate on re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere. “There is huge room for cooperation, but there must be regulations, not recommendations that are not binding.”

Laith Hamad, VP, Government and Regulatory Engagement & Board Member, OneWeb NEOM Joint Venture, at the SATEXPO Summit.

The panel on space sustainability discussed the responsible management of space.