Fujairah company takes 'fast food TV' to Africa

Fujairah Media Group (FMG) plans to roll out a TV business in Africa using a business model it likens to a "fast-food-style" franchise agreement.

"Basically, it's KFC - only it's television," said Mekki Abdulla, the chief executive of FMG.

The working title for the new TV network is The African Channel. FMG, which is 30 per cent owned by the Fujairah Government, says it will sell the rights to three new channels to multiple African partners, who will be able localise them for terrestrial broadcast.

It is part of FMG's plan to make up half of its total revenues in Africa by the end of 2012.

"Our real focus is Africa, for television and radio. We're developing something called The African Channel, which we'll beam out of Fujairah," said Mr Abdulla.

With almost 500 channels in the free-to-air TV space across the Arab world, Mr Abdulla is looking further afield.

"In two years from now, I'd say [our Africa ventures will make up] nearly as much as 50 per cent [of our total business]. That's a key market for us. We need to have the [consumer] numbers and we don't have the numbers here."

Mr Abdulla said FMG had made a "substantial" investment in the African TV venture, but declined to specify a figure.

"It's offering local entrepreneurs a television-in-a-box … They pick up our stream, and they rebroadcast it terrestrially, into their village, their city, or wherever they want to go.

"We give them little segments where they can fill it with any local stuff they want. And we give them the whole back-end, so they have the content, which is where the expensive part is."

FMG said the channels offered to African partners were geared towards general entertainment, drama and children's shows. It will populate the channels with content bought in from third parties.

Mr Abdulla said the company was in negotiations with potential clients in Africa, and expected to start supplying the broadcast channels by the end of next year.

"We have three people who are pretty much ready to sign up … For our business model to really work, we need to get to 15-plus. But we think the scope is about 30," he said.

Partners will be entitled to keep locally generated advertising revenue, and take a cut of any network-wide sponsorship revenue.

FMG operates several radio stations including Coast 103.2FM and the Arabic broadcast 92.6 FM Mena'al Fujairah, and the TV stations ABC TV, Dunia TV and Zoal TV, which focuses on Sudan.

The Fujairah Radio Network, which is part of FMG, recently acquired a 50 per cent stake in the European radio station JazzRadio Berlin. Mr Abdulla said the deal was worth "in the range of €2.5 million [Dh12m]" for a two-year commitment, and that there are plans to broadcast the station over digital radio across Germany.

He said the group also planned to boost its radio activities in Africa. "We have a very strong business going on there. We hope to have a [radio] licence in Tunisia and we're in negotiations to acquire one in Morocco," Mr Abdulla said.

"We think there is a great opportunity in commercial radio over the next five years. As we come out of this particular dip, I think radio will do particularly well."

FMG also operates the Creative City free zone, from which it currently derives most of its revenues. "[FMG] has operated at a significant loss for four years, and then this year we did well, we've turned it around," said Mr Abdulla.

The company also plans to build a drive-in theatre in the mountains of Fujairah, and says it is in discussions to launch a similar concept in Tunisia.

bflanagan@thenational.ae

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