Egyptian TV production booms while Egyptian film biz busts.

The Egyptian TV scene is booming, with a sudden proliferation of cable channels airing Egyptian films and plans to add more satellite and pay-TV networks. In addition, the two Egyptian government channels are also planning to beam 24-hours-a-day for the increasingly receptive Egyptian population of 59 million.

"While Egyptian TV production is doing well, the film industry has suffered as a result of the increase of TV broadcast. Only 20 films were produced in 1994, compared to the annual average of 75 films," commented film director and producer Mohammed Kan. "Most directors find this is a transition time to work out solutions with Egyptian broadcasters."

Population                         57 million

TVHH                               4.1 million

TV CHANNELS                        Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

SATELLITE CHANNELS                 MBC, Orbit, EDTV,
                                   STAR-TV, ESC

NUMBER OF CINEMAS                  116

COST OF ADMISSION
TICKET (average)                   US$ 1.50

ANNUAL NUMBER OF
MOVIEGOERS                         33 million

VCR                                1.6 million

SATELLITE DISHES                   2 million

ANNUAL TV AD
EXPENDITURES                       $133m

NUMBER OF DAILY TV
COMMERCIAL MINUTES
(total terrestrial)                300 minutes

ANNUAL TV PROGRAM
IMPORTS (IN US$)                   $14.7 million

AVERAGE TV PROGRAM
IMPORT PRICES                      US$800-3,000

STANDARD                           SECAM-B

The largest producer and seller of Egyptian television, the Egyptian Radio & Television Union (ERTU) - part of the Ministry of Information - has developed its market to target Arab and Islamic countries. Surprisingly, women are mostly the chiefs of the seven Egyptian national channels and the channels' News Bureau chief. According to First Channel President Mrs. Kawthar Heikal, ERTU is planning to expand an international satellite that would specialize in documentaries to compete with the popular satellite and cable channels.

Satellite and cable channels airing pay-TV in Egypt include ORBIT (English/Arabic), MTV and CNN with Sat channels, EGYPTIAN SATELLITE CHANNEL (Arabic), Canal France International (French/Arabic) and Nilesat (English/French). The Rome-based Saudi-owned Arab Radio & Television (ART) is developing a 24-hour-network in Egypt,\NBC. HBO has stalled its 1994 plans to open an Egyptian office, according to programming director Jim Byerley, but is eyeing Egypt for the future.

"A trend one will see is the increase of regional channels. There are currently five stations in Egypt; the South-Minia, the Nile Delta, Alexandria, the Suez Canal area and Cairo Channel 3 and we expect more," said Mrs. Zeinab Ezzat, director of promotion for the ERTU Economic Sector.

"We attend all the international markets like MIPCOM to sell our programming abroad, with 700 hours of soap operas, religious serials and other TV shows. But we still have not gained much success in the West, except for our educational home videos and documentaries to countries like Australia and Argentina," commented Ezzat.

Egyptian TV production has also witnessed a surge in buying foreign TV shows like the popular Bold and Beautiful (so popular that Islamic fundamentalists have reduced the daily showings to an evening time slot), Murphy Brown and the Japanese soap, Oshin.

"Film producers should be diversifying and buying more foreign films to bring people into the theatre to compete with Egyptian TV," said well-known Egyptian director Rafaat El Mihy, whose company Studio 13 has gotten into TV programming and film distribution. "Egyptian TV, theatre and film have a synergy, with the same directors and actors working together. However, right now Egyptian cinema directors must benefit more from the Egyptian television production."

EGYPTIAN TV PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES

AL ALAMEYA FOR TV AND CINEMA Hussein El Kalla 20 Emad El Din St. Cairo Tel: [phone]/Fax: 770029

ARAB RADIO & TELEVISION (ART) Mohammad Yassin 56 Gameat AL-Dowal Arabia St. Mohandessin, Giza, Cairo Tel: [phone]/Fax: [phone]

ART COLOR Ahmed Nadeem 16 Omar Tosson St. Giza, Cairo Tel: 344957/Fax: [phone]

ORBIT Felix Youssef Sarban Cairotel, 4th Floor, Maadi Cairo Tel: [phone]/Fax: [phone]

SPOT 2000 Safwat Ghattas 1 Abo Alkramat Square Agouza, Cairo Tel: [phone]/Fax: [phone]

STUDIO 13 Rafaat El Mihi 2 Soliman El Halabi St. Cairo Tel: [phone]

ECONOMIC SECTOR EGYPTIAN RADIO & TV P.O. Box 2233 Cairo 11515 Tel: [phone]/Fax: 773441

LASER-EGYPT 35 Emad El Din Street Cairo 11111 Tel: [phone]/Fax: 936270

OSCAR VIDEO FILM P.O. Box 806 Cairo Tel: 777403/Fax: 768549