Though they may have landed the year’s biggest scoop by interviewing Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, Moscow’s government-backed TV station, Russia Today, has performed so poorly in the Middle East since its 2007 launch in Arabic that it is not even listed in regional television ratings. In fact, despite tens of millions of dollars in investments, most state-backed Arabic channels have failed miserably to attract Arab viewers.
The downward ratings trend applies to nearly all government-sponsored Arabic language news organizations created over the last decade, including glitzy offerings from Washington, Paris, London, Beijing and Tehran:
The only noticeable gains have been recorded by BBC Arabic which nearly peaked at 3 percent of viewers in Egypt although it dipped to 0.5 percent in Lebanon, three years after its launch.
Here is a look at last year’s figures in detail, which were obtained during research for my piece last month on Murdoch’s Sky Arabia, which will be unveiled this year, despite the dismal market.
AVERAGE DAILY VIEWERSHIP*:
KSA 2011
Al Arabiya: 28 percent
Al Jazeera: 15 percent
Al Akhbariya (Saudi state-owned): 5 percent
BBC Arabic: 1 percent
France 24 Arabic: 0.1 percent
Al Hurra: 0 percent
Egypt 2011
Al Jazeera: 10.2 percent
Al Arabiya: 9 percent
BBC Arabic: 2.8 percent
Al Hurra: 1 percent
France 24 Arabic: 0.1 percent
Lebanon 2011
Al Jazeera. 11.1 percent
Al Arabiya: 9.6 percent
Al Hurra: 1 percent
BBC Arabic: 0.5 percent
France 24 Arabic: 0.1 percent
*Source: Stat IPSOS, Beirut
