When the Screen Actors Guild in the US began beating the drums for a strike last winter, it sounded to many in the industry like the opening song to a very tired old rerun. After all, it had been less than a year since the Writers Guild of America had gone on a three-month strike, which turned out to be a devastating affair for just about everyone involved - especially viewers.
Few who saw it are likely to forget the horror of watching the American late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien try to fill the awkward hours of unscripted airtime by inviting the camera crew to film him playing the video game, Rock Band, in his office with his co-workers. It's a fun game, but terrible television.
At the centre of both disputes was the question of how the people who make the shows get paid when that content gets consumed over new media, from internet television to mobile downloads. Many of the writers and actors' contracts, they complained, did not include methods for measuring online distribution, or guidelines on how to pay for it fairly. Technology had simply moved faster than the lawyers, leaving the people who helped make the content in nearly as awkward a position as Conan as they watched their industry's digital revolution lift off without them.
Today, as concrete signs emerge that internet television revolution in the Middle East has begun in earnest, those disputes in the US will be sifted for pointers to pre-empt problems.
Last week, MBC, the group behind several of the region's most-watched television channels, released viewership figures for its first experiment with free, advertising-supported internet television, in conjunction with Etisalat. Since the project was launched, during Ramadan last year, there have been 8 million viewings online - not to mention the more than 5 million advertisement viewings that went with them. This has been a vote of confidence that the region may indeed be ready for the free, advertiser-supported online television business model. Until this video-on-demand project, MBC offered its programmes online by subscription only. But MBC's tie-up with Etisalat last September was followed by a similar tie-up between the telecommunications company and Dubai Media Incorporated, suggesting that more free online television is on the way.
The model has already proven popular in the West, with The Walt Disney Company's ABC television network joining NBC Universal and News Corp as an equity owner of Hulu, the advertising-supported online video site, in April.
But the question for the region is whether it can make the transition to an increasingly digital television industry more gracefully than those who blazed the trail.
Dr Ammar Bakkar, the group director of new media at MBC, predicts this shift will cause fundamental changes, not just to media companies' internal structures, but to what gets played on the television airwaves as well.
"One of the things about television that should change is the windowing system," he said. "Currently TV channels repeat content freely. Now, when channels know that the minute the content is shown on TV it's going to be available on the web, repeating content for the second or third time will look less appealing, which will create problems.
"All of a sudden, the owners of content, who used to sell their content 10 times, will say: 'Everybody has seen it online. Who would bother to buy it?' It will create changes in the market."
So far, those changes have not happened, but Dr Bakkar believes they need to if the Middle East is to mature to a point where it can profit from the web's popularity as a source of television, just as iTunes has been able to do in the West for music, and increasingly for TV shows and movies as well.
Mark Hill, a partner at The Rights Lawyers in Dubai, has worked on several contracts between broadcasters and production companies over the past four years that included online provisions - including Dubai TV's contract for the broadcast and online distribution of the animated series Freej. But he agrees that, generally, there are many unanswered questions about how television contracts will work in the region as internet television becomes more common.
"A question is how long the exclusivity window is before [a programme] goes free-to-air, whether it goes to pay TV or free-to-air, and how does the internet fit into that?" he said. "Because in an online context, MBC is no different from Showtime."
He said it would be some time before the complexity and precision of contracts in the region matched those of more developed markets in the West. "It's not a simple game," he said. "I think people have either not started to play the game yet, or have thought that it's maybe easier than it is."
Of course, it is unlikely that the UAE, having no actors' or writers' unions, will be subjected to marathon sessions of spontaneous reality programming anytime soon. And the debates in the West were about the agreements between creative professionals and production companies, not the broadcasters. Still, the last two years of unrest in the industry have illustrated the importance of taking new media into account when drafting contracts.
As the UAE in general, and Abu Dhabi in particular, attempts to position itself as a content creation hub for the region, with ventures such as the twofour54 media zone, it should make sure that it becomes known as a place where content's creation is rewarded, no matter how it is consumed.
khagey@thenational.ae
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
MADAME%20WEB
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Europe wide
Some of French groups are threatening Friday to continue their journey to Brussels, the capital of Belgium and the European Union, and to meet up with drivers from other countries on Monday.
Belgian authorities joined French police in banning the threatened blockade. A similar lorry cavalcade was planned for Friday in Vienna but cancelled after authorities prohibited it.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
