I thought it was going to be a quiet year, judging by the slowdown in December 2016, but every morning of 2017 thus far, no sweet call to prayer has awakened me.
I thought it was going to be a quiet year, judging by the slowdown in December 2016, but every morning of 2017 thus far, no sweet call to prayer has awakened me.
Rather, a rude cacophony, created 
by cranes, drilling machines and the other construction machinery surrounding us on every side in every street, wakes us up each morning. I have always seen this as a sign of good times. If theres noise, hustle and bustle and never-ending traffic on the streets, it must mean we are in the middle of that rat race again, with everyone elbowing each other on their way to the new horizon whose margin fades forever and ever as we move towards it.
This probably also explains the musical chairs in the market, with several high-profile entries and exits within the broadcast space. Incidentally, we have seen some restructuring at several organisations, with management shuffling people around in the hope that this will lead to better bottom lines.
The number of management changes just within Dubai this month, the number of new office launches, the new projects in the market that everybody is eyeing these are definitely a reflection that business is slowly on the rise. Everything may centre around Expo 2020 in the UAE, but dont forget there is also Vision 2030 in KSA and something similar in Qatar.
In the meantime, the inaugural edition of DISCOP in Dubai was an eye-opener to how much demand there is for good quality Arabic content. Did you know that China is one of the biggest suppliers of dubbed Arabic content, while Bulgaria serves as a big centre for its production?
Content is always an interesting topic, but most of the money in broadcast lies in equipment, services and systems integration, and action has begun on this front. Im sure we will see more of it as we head towards March with CABSAT drawing close. But lets wait and watch. Things are still unfolding.
