UAE media faces a very tough 2009
Posted on 30 November 2008 with no comments from readers
Brave faces all round in the UAE media world these days. Everybody knows that real estate advertising has been bank rolling the expansion of the sector for the past two years, and those times are over.
Advertising schedules are looking empty. Nivea Creme is taking the place of high-rise homes on the billboards of Dubai, one of the few brands planning expansion next year. It can only be a matter of time before publishers and broadcasters are rationalizing their portfolios and cutting back.
City 7
Rumors have buzzed around the City 7 television station in Dubai. Staff have now been paid but the station is up for sale. Who will buy a loss-making channel going into a recession?
Next year is going to be a particular shock for the ‘heads in sand’ people of the ‘UAE property prices will never fall’, state-of-denial school. However, the real debate among media professionals is how long and how deep the cut backs will be.
That the UAE media market is over-done has been obvious for five years but it has got worse recently. Did the market really need two more government-funded, English-language newspapers this year? Does the market really support seven major, English-language news websites covering the country?
Luxury not essential
I read today that ITP is enjoying great success with its luxury lifestyle magazines at present. It is less than a year ago that Western analysts were telling us that the top-end was recession proof. That is not the message from the market now: anybody can do without luxuries, it is necessities that are recession proof, like supermarkets or low-cost Nivea Cremes.
It is hard to escape the conclusion that the UAE media will face a nasty downturn in 2009 with real estate advertising delivering an axe to a long period of expansion. Staff numbers will be reduced, the parking problem will go in the Dubai Media City and this time titles and channels will surely be closed.
How bad will it get before it gets better? Well, I think a debt-for-equity swap with Abu Dhabi and the creation of new home loan banks will save Dubai, but that will not come soon enough for many.
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no Comments posted by readers:
Hey why are we all cutting such a sorry figure, till last year only business was booming so if there is a down turn why crib so much things will get better soon. Have high hopes. Everyone from advertisers to real estate to avaiation is hit.