MTV Networks Case Study
Also within Arab there are three religions followed – Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
This makes things more complicated since some things are acceptable in one religion while is it not accepted by the others. There is a good amount of youth in the population of Arab who are the target group of MAT. But MAT must make it a point to be aware of the religion followed by the youth as religion is a part of their lifestyle. One of the most crucial facts at Mats decision on entering the Middle East market, was the fact the 65% of the Arab population is younger than 25 years old.
MAT as a huge Music television channel have to make be aware of the forbidden things according to the religion followed on Arab.
Some of them are listed down: Inappropriate Content / Sexual Content Decent clothing – no clothes on would be disrespectful Politics criticism and Religion criticism No use of Alcohol Another important point In order to gain more and more customers In Arab Is that MAT has to consider the fact that Arab’s are family oriented. The Arab community still conserves the traditional values supported by their culture.
Since MAT airs content which contains all of some of the forbidden content above, they must make It a point o learn the cultures and make shows that relate to the Arab population. In order to achieve this goal the channel has to adopt a decentralized structure and give commercial and creative Independence to the local staff. Hence for successful Implementation of MAT Arab, the managers have to think and consider things such as religion, forbidden content, language translation, censored language and the possibility to have local TV shows.
Question 2: Critically analyze Mats strategy In the Middle East. Comment on Its entry strategy and also Its strategy of providing mixed content to the market. Do you think MAT will be able to succeed In this market? MAT Intelligently made sure that the population of Arab understood them as they are here to provide entertainment which would not In any terms be disrespectful to their culture and religion. MAT tied up with few of the local business which was their first step Into entering the Arab market.
Their strategy Included providing 60% International music with 40 % local Arab music, with 45 % of the MATS Arab content to be produced locally, edited by local editors who knew the real culture of the nation.
The key was that they reflected the Arab nation. About 65 % of the population In the Middle East comprises of youth under the age of 25, hence they wanted to provide the youth flavor In their programs by Glenn a platform to the local youth performers to De a part AT ten channel Day talking to teem Ana also Day showcasing their talent on air.
They understood that capturing the present generation’s attraction was a key. Their strategy also included the partnership with different media channels such as mobile and the internet, they wanted their target audience to be able to follow them through these channels, which would mean a broader racket for them as there were 37 million mobile subscribers in the Middle East. They wanted to not only provide entertainment to the market but also provide them with shows which reflected the Arab society through shows comprising of social issues which would include education, unemployment and others.
MAT was able to enter the market of the Middle east with a great success as its strategy of providing mixed content with the feel that they would provide them with entertainment combining the factors of respected the Arab culture, meant a great degree of affiliation with the action, capturing the youth market with the flavor of music and getting into the mature market by providing shows on different areas of the society was a key for the producers to get into a region where they was a willingness by the people to be entertained.
Providing mixed content to the audience with adjustments needed in order to adapt to the culture was their smartest move. Question 3: Follow up on this case as of the time of your reading it. How successful has MAT been in this market to date? What, if anything, do you think MAT should have done differently? What should the company do now? MAT have had great success in the global industry with its music, entertainment and controversial shows it has captured the hearts of thousands of customers.
The way it entered the Arab market was impressive in spite of all the cultural restrictions.
It was a great challenge for them to adopt in a culture which was competed against their content. Today due to the decreasing popularity in the American culture, Arab is playing a vital role in Mats plan to coming to their high position. The market in the Arabian is helping them stay competitive in the global market. The current generation of teenagers in Arab is hooked on the Internet and hey are starting to integrate this technology to their everyday life.
Regional pride in the area also plays a big part in Mats current success in the Middle East.
Fans were found completely packed outside the Virgin Megastars in Dublin last year to see Aimed Sultan collect his MAT European Music Award for Best Middle Eastern Act. Considering this event, I believe it would be a great idea to have more awards for musicians and entertainers in the Middle East. Adding more awards for Middle Eastern celebrities will encourage citizens to become more apart of award shows and bring publicity to these events leading to further profitability
