Direct TV Arabic
Arabic Market in the United States
Direct TV seems to have had the foresight to tap into the incredible potential of a growing niche market, that of the Arab-American community, which is estimated at between 3 and 4 million people.
By providing the Direct TV Arabic service, with channels directly from the Middle East, they have managed to secure a significant portion of this market. Due to the fact that most cable operators are disadvantaged in the face of Direct TV’s digital satellite system, we may soon witness a meteoric increase of this satellite operator’s market share of Arabic-speaking households.
Arabic TV Channel Lineup
The business model that they have adopted focuses on making it incredibly simple for customers to order their international packages, by providing a phone service where orders can be placed directly and customers in their native language. It is an excellent psychological advantage, because it is more likely for the older generation to want access to Arabic content on satellite TV, and this system helps those who may feel uncertain of their ability to get their message across in English. The younger generation will probably show a much lower degree of interest because in many cases their recollections of their native countries are either non-existant or, in the best case, very vague.
The fact that customers must subscribe first to one of Direct TV’s basic packages, before gaining access to the Arabic service, is also a technique to drive market share. The customer will most likely terminate any paid TV contract they may have with a cable operator, because they will have both the channels their former contract offered as well as the added advantage of Arabic programming, from home. There are also financial advantages for the customer, as the packages are generally similarly priced versus cable operator packages but offer many more channels, making them better value for money.
At the moment, there are only five channels available, but they offer the best Arabic programming with a wide variety of programs from news, to movies to educational programs.
Channels Included by DIRECTV
Rotana Cinema offers premium movies, from the classics to the latest hot releases that have never been shown on TV. It is the richest stockpile of Arabic movies in the world.
Rotana Zaman broadcasts classic Arabic movies for television that have been digitally restored.
Rotana Moossika is a music channel that broadcasts 24 hours per day and offers a variety of music related programs, including music news, besides music videos.
Orbit Seen, the Series Channel, broadcasts 24 hours a day of TV series from all the Middle East.
Orbit Al-Yawm provides social, educational and cultural television programming for the whole family.
The price tag attached to this offer is $25.99 per month, to which an extra $29.99 should be added for the cheapest basic package. It works out to approximately $55 per month, which is relatively reasonable considering where the channels originate, and the fact that you get high quality digital broadcasts, plus over 50 English-language digital channels.
