|
|
|
star
barometer
| Browse
previous Star Barometer columns:
New
roles, new films
The young Sheikh
El-Shaarawi, plus Heneidi and Shaaban's new films
Egypt's Laverne and
Shirley?
With divorce rates on the up, it was
inevitable that real-life tragedy would become fodder for small-screen
comedy
Kordahi overexposed
Bekir says the public is "burning
up" their stars
Mummified
viagra? Does a
Turkish-Egyptian co-production with a curious plot signal a loosening of
restrictions for the movie industry?
The
critics look back, Saber
on both screens,
and Entertainment tonight coming to channel 1?
Soad Hosni as TV drama, the most expensive scene
ever and Nour El-Sherif's new big galabiya role
Mohamed
Mounir's heart, celebrities hawking products, billboard
reorganization, and more
Funny
play names, and the Candid Camera doll |
Barter to benefit all
TV shows to look better, and cost less, thanks to new ad policy
by Tarek Atia
(cairolive.com,
April 21, 2002)
The Egyptian TV Union seems to be gradually picking up more and more of the
economic policies that tend to drive TV networks worldwide.
Competition is stiff nowadays, and the need for bigger and better
productions can pinch a budget already hurting from a drop in advertising,
and a migration of viewers to a wide range of slick satellite
options -- some , like Dream, are even local models.
The latest delve into
consumer-driven TV involves lavish sets and top-class duds for the
presenters and casts of game shows, talk shows and soap operas,
being provided by advertisers, in exchange for a mention in the
credits.
Will we soon see slick
sets on every show?
An article
in Saturday's Akhbar Al-Youm indicates that officials at the Union's
Economics Sector have agreed to this sort of barter deal with
private companies, as is commonly done in talk shows and game shows
abroad. As in: "Mr Soand So's wardrobe courtesy of A. Fashun King,
Los Angeles..."
The decision, the paper says,
makes official an experiment that began on a cooking program last Ramadan, whereby the hotel which provided the raw materials
and locations for the show was mentioned in the
opening credits.
Decorators, furniture lines, and
designers will receive 10 seconds of
commercial air time in the form of their names appearing in the
credits, TV officials said
On another note, the official is also quoted as saying the Union is considering
encouraging its announcers to mention the Egyptian brands that they wear or use
on air -- in an attempt to boost local brand value. Popular announcer Hamdi
Qandil has been doing just that on Ra'is Tahrir (Editor-in-Chief).
Qandil pulls it off in the charged political context of his talk show,
as a counterpoint to American goods, but it remains to be seen how other
announcers will perform.
related on the net....
It's
an ad, ad, ad, ad world
"A lot of people are upset," writes Tarek
Atia in Al-Ahram Weekly, "that advertisements are now shown during
soap operas, films and other programs on Egyptian television.
"Aren't the ads between the programs enough?" asked one irate
viewer...
What's in the Mags looks at Egyptian
brands
Disclaimer
and Terms of Use
© Copyright 1996-2005 cairolive.com. All Rights Reserved
|
|
Read
Tarek Atia's web log
Find
out how
the world media sees Egypt...
UPDATED DAILY!
The ultimate
East-West
world-view
Instant Arabic headlines
|
|
