Viewers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are embracing social media as a way of enhancing the television experience according to the findings from Motorola Mobility’s 2010 Media Engagement Barometer, an independent global study of video consumption habits among 7,500 consumers in 13 markets by research agency Vanson Bourne. Sixty percent of those surveyed from the UAE have used a social network or Internet chat software to discuss a television programme or video content while they were watching it; the third highest total behind China (70 percent) and Russia (66 percent). Of this group, a further 67 percent do it frequently or very frequently, the highest combined percentage of the entire survey. Spelling good news for service providers, 28 percent of those who have used a social networks or chat service to discuss programming would readily pay a premium for such services to be integrated into their TV service, while 47 percent would seriously consider paying extra provided they were given a demonstration of its value. A massive 73 percent would change service provider to one that offered access to these services. Reinforcing the notion that viewers in the UAE are progressive when it comes to how they consume video content, out of the 13 markets surveyed, the UAE leads the pack in terms of mobile TV and video. Over half of respondents say that it is either very or quite important for them to be able to watch free-to-air and subscription content on a device when they are outside the home. According to the results, the television, while still the primary viewing device, is fighting for eyeballs with a range of other screens. Fifty two percent of the sample watches TV and video on laptops, 31 percent on desktops and 13 percent use either smartphones and/or tablet devices. “The general trend for the survey has been towards established Western markets being more conservative in their viewing habits than Middle Eastern & Asian ones, and the UAE results certainly bear this out,” said Alper Turken, sales director, Middle East & Turkey, Home business, Motorola Mobility. “The Internet Era of TV is shaking and breaking existing usage patterns and business models, presenting opportunities for service providers. As the UAE results show, innovations around integrating social media functionality will certainly find favour with viewers, and this should encourage the development and deployment of new services in the region.” Viewing preference Respondents are accessing a broad mix of services. As a total percentage of the UAE sample, 58 percent use free to air service, 67 percent have subscription services, and 45 percent access video content via other means including on-demand and media broadcast through the Internet. In regards to which is the most preferred of these services, of the respondents who spent a lot of time viewing each service, IPTV is just as popular as subscription services over satellite, again reinforcing the notion of the UAE viewers being progressive. Interestingly, regarding weekly viewing hours, the survey suggests that UAE viewers watch the least amount across the sample markets at just 13 hours a week (the same as South Korea). The average for the 13 regions is 17 hours. Next generation devices When looking at ownership figures for next generation devices (both now and within next 18 months), the UAE yet again leads the study. More respondents say they plan to buy a 3D television by 2012 than in any other market (42 percent plan to own in the UAE against a global average of just 22 percent). In fact three times as many as in France and Germany and almost four times as many as North America. There are also high levels of interest in high definition television sets (80 percent either own or plan to own) and Internet enabled televisions (59 percent either own or plan to own against an average of 43 percent).
