A survey by the Yankee Group telecom consulting company shows that in America, the growth of TV ad revenue has slowed significantly while Internet ad revenue is increasing much more rapidly. 2009 saw an overall decline in ad revenue, with TV decreasing 21 percent compared with the Internet’s 12 percent decline, indicating a clear increase in Internet’s ad-market share.

As more and more people turn to the Internet as their main source of multimedia news and entertainment, the role of video has become vital. Online news outlets such as the BBC and Al Masry Al Youm have dedicated a lot more room on their websites for video news, a clue that points to WebTV news gaining ground in the not so distant future. 

Arab newspapers, such as Lebanon’s An Nahar and Egypt’s Al Masry Al Youm, have begun to respond to this new trend by providing WebTV as part of their main website services. However, due to many factors involved with implementing new media, such as figuring out new business models associated with introducing WebTV, An Nahar requested an ANDP workshop on the topic. In 2009 An-Nahar launched a Web TV project in an effort to reach a broader online audience, with this latest workshop designed to help them further develop an already promising programme.

ANDP responded by devising what would become the second component of the programme. On 12 August 2010, commercial and online directors from An Nahar and Al Masry Al Youm met with Tim Frank Anderson - a leading expert in interactive media - and the ANDP Project Team to discuss how best to proceed with their WebTV commercial strategies.

The participants were able to pinpoint critical areas and strategic perspectives that would help propel WebTV forward in the region.

It turns out the difference between the European and Arab markets is not so great after all. Despite the European outlets having had a head start, Anderson found that the leading Arab outlets are not terribly far behind, while some are even ahead of the game. Target groups of young, urban Arabs seem to be closeer to their European counterparts than first thought.

Major television news stations are only just beginning to capitalise on WebTV. Being such a new trend, it also presents a clear opportunity for Arab newspapers to strike while the iron is hot and play a leading regional role in the WebTV market, before television stations understand that their future also lies with the Internet.