Executive Speaker Interview with Pierre Kakhia, President, West Asia, World Sport Group

How popular is sports broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa, and how are viewers’ appetites currently being fed?

Middle Easterners and North Africans, the youth in these regions in particular, are hugely passionate about sport. Without a doubt, the top sport is football and fans in the Middle-East are fiercely loyal and passionate about their national teams and clubs.

Unsurprisingly some 43 million viewers in the Middle-East watched this year’s AFC Asian Cup, Asia’s largest sporting event. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the fourth and fifth largest viewership market after Japan, China and Korea for this event. In Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar nearly 15 million sports fans watched the group and round of 16 stages of the AFC Champions League. These are significant numbers and we expect them to continue growing especially because how fans consume their sports is evolving rapidly.
With recent developments in HD-quality pictures, and as sport content is increasingly being made available on multiple platforms including internet and mobile, not just television, virtually everyone in the region has access to quality sports programming.

What are the major issues affecting sports broadcasters in the region, and how do you think this can be best addressed?

In recent years, sports media rights costs have soared because of the demand for premium sports content. Because of these high costs, broadcasters are now finding it difficult to achieve a reasonable return on investment (ROI) that justifies their spend.

Advertising revenues alone do not cover the rights fees for some of the most in-demand, premium sports programming. The challenge for broadcasters is to find a balance between the properties with high rights fees and those which are reasonably priced, and yet which offer a high ROI.

How important a market is MENA for World Sport Group and why?

The Middle East is an important and dynamic sports market, and we have been working with sports governing bodies, governments and multinational companies here for nearly 20 years. During this time, we have seen the sports industry develop and thrive.

Governments in the region have recognized sport’s positive impact on the economy and society as a whole and as a result, we are seeing increased government and corporate investment in this sector. In 2022 Qatar will host the World Cup. More recently, they hosted the AFC Asian Cup and the Asian Games. Next year, two countries – Bahrain and the UAE – will host Formula 1 races. Some of the most lucrative events on the European Tour are held in the Middle-East.

World-class sports infrastructures like Dubai Sports City and Qatar’s Aspire Zone are also an important part of the overall strategy to develop the industry. Now more than ever, there are tremendous opportunities in sport and we expect the industry here to continue growing and prospering.