Thursday, June 24, 2010
Alhurra, the U.S. government’s answer to the popular Middle East network Al Jazeera, has cost American taxpayers $700 million since its inception during the Bush administration. But Alhurra has failed to grab enough viewers in the region to make it a worthwhile investment going forward, says a report from a U.S. Senate committee.
“Given the crowded media environment of the Middle East, either greater resources must be devoted to marketing and promotion or additional programming changes must be enacted in pursuit of increasing (Alhurra’s) market share,” reads the report from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. “Should these efforts fail to improve the overall viewership levels, policy makers will have to decide if continuing Alhurra’s operation is worth the costs.”
The Arab language network, which broadcasts out of a studio in Springfield, Virginia, has an annual budget that exceeds the combined funding for U.S. government networks targeting Asia, Cuba and Iran. But it has only garnered an audience share of 2%, while receiving about $1 million a year for marketing its television and radio programming.
In contrast, Radio Free Asia tries to reach a market of more than 1 billion people, with a marketing budget of less than $2,000.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Alhurra’s Effectiveness, Expense Criticized in New Senate Report (by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica)
U.S. International Broadcasting: —Is Anybody Listening?—Keeping The U.S. Connected (U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations) (pdf)
U.S. Taxpayers Shell Out Half Billion Dollars for Little Watched Arab TV Station (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AlGov)
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