Making air waves: Private television stations are set to increase broadcasting competition

With an increasingly open environment for private media ventures and the gradual introduction of new competitors, Algeria’s media sector is diversifying the range of products on offer, though the breadth of the sector overall remains confined. Although print publications remain the backbone of the sector, new private television stations are starting to open up the sector and compete with the long-established state television channel. Online news platforms are also slowly growing in number, although financing for internet-based media continues to be limited.

The sector remains characterised by a strong dependence on government advertising, although an increasing array of national and international companies are investing in advertising on national media and helping to diversify the sources of financing for some of the major Algerian newspapers. The new media code, which is expected to be adopted in the near future, will also help to shape the sector by increasing the level of professionalism.

PRINT MEDIA: Press liberalisation in the late 1980s opened up a space for private press titles, which have consistently gained ground and are now an important part of the population’s news consumption habits. There are 105 daily newspapers published across the country, with Arabic-language papers enjoying a stronger readership than the others. Even so, only around a dozen newspapers have daily printing figures of more than 15,000 copies, which means that the sector’s advertising revenues and readerships are considerably diluted because of the number of options.

The biggest newspaper in the country is the Arabic-language El Shorouk, which prints up to 500,000 copies every day, followed by El Khabar with 400,000 copies. “El Shorouk’s print figures are higher than the combined print figures for the five biggest Francophone newspapers,” said Ahmed Fattani, editor-in-chief of L’Expression newspaper. Indeed, despite having a consistent following, Francophone newspapers are considerably smaller than their Arabic counterparts, which enjoy widespread popularity. The main French-language papers include El Watan, which prints about 100,000 copies every day; followed by Liberté, 90,000;

Le Soir, 60,000; and Le Quotidien d’Oran and L’ Expression, each with about 40,000 copies printed daily.

LANGUAGE DIVIDE: The fact that Arabic is the language most commonly used in mass communication products is largely the result of a combination of post-independence Arabisation policies with demographic expansion. Indeed, Algeria’s newspapers have been through a major transition in terms of the amount of Arabic versus French in newsprint.

In the early 1990s, two-thirds of newspaper copies printed in Algeria were in French. By 2012, this had been reduced to around one-third. “The change happened because the population is young and mostly Arabic speaking,” said Fattani. “The older generations learned French in school but not necessarily Arabic.” The change in the language of communication has not only affected newspapers but has also had an impact on the emergence of several Arabic-language internet news platforms. It has also affected quality, as Francophone newspapers are generally considered to have a more Westernised approach to journalism practices than their Arabic-language counterparts.

MAGAZINES: The print sector remains focused on daily news products. In contrast to other countries in the region, where weeklies and monthly magazines have been able to carve a space of their own, Algerians are mostly daily newspaper consumers.

Since the days of Algérie Actualités, which had a print run of 250,000 copies at the end of the 1980s after the opening of the media sector, no weekly publication has been able to establish itself. The market now is mainly driven by daily publications. “Magazines are expensive to produce, and the cover price will necessarily be at least AD150 (€1.38), which means that its potential audience will be considerably limited,” said Salah Lakoues, editor-in-chief of Le Maghreb newspaper. Several niche titles exist, including trade magazines with irregular publishing schedules. Two daily newspapers, Le Maghreb, which is published in Algiers, and Le Financier, which started out in Oran, focus on economy and business news in French.

PRINTING HOUSES: Most newspapers use government-owned printing houses, although two of the biggest heavyweights in the sector, El Watan and the El Khabar, invested in their own printing equipment in the 1990s and are currently the only two private newspapers with independent printing capabilities, as well the reputed Le Quotidien d’Oran, which also owns its own print house. Government investment in printing houses will soon translate into new state-owned units opening up soon in Tamarassnet, Bechar and Ourgla, making it possible for news titles to appear daily in the southernmost regions.

Several newspaper titles are dependant on government advertising to survive, especially the smaller ones. About 80% of total state advertising goes to the 10 biggest newspapers, according to Le Maghreb’s Lakoues. Although there is no formal policy of subsidies regarding the newspaper sector, the National Enterprise of Editing and Advertising (Entreprise Nationale d’Edition et de Publicité, ANEP) is the government body in charge of allocating the yearly advertising budget to the different newspapers, according to their size and print figures. For example, French-language newspaper L’Expression receives about $1.5m from ANEP annually to help support the costs of its 40,000 copies daily. Although there is a large proportion of sector financing from the state coffers, the most successful titles are increasingly expanding their sources of advertising revenue, as the number of private economic operators using the media to advertise their products and services grows.

Current financing of print media might also change with the enactment of the new media law. This may reduce the number of print titles. “It may take two to three years, but there is bound to be a concentration in the newspaper market,” Lakoues said. “Some newspapers, particularly those with the smallest printing figures, will most likely close. This will also be encouraged by a potential change in the way the ANEP manages state advertisement in the future.”

TELEVISION RISING: Perhaps the biggest changes are happening in the television sector, as the state operator is increasingly challenged by new private chains. The long-established state-run National Enterprise of Television (Entreprise Nationale de Télévision, ENTV) has traditionally been the only player in Algerian television. It manages five different channels, including ENTV, Algérie 3, Algérie 4, Algérie 5 and Canal Algérie, all of which cater to different audiences. Algérie 3, an Arabic-speaking station, runs programmes targeting Middle East and Arabic-speaking countries, using Nilesat and Eutelsat Hotbird satellites. Canal Algérie offers Algerian sports shows, fiction series and documentaries to the Algerian diaspora in Europe, North Africa and the Arab world, using Eutelsat Hotbird.

All of ENTV’s chains are under the umbrella of the national television station with no specifically defined budget, other than the annual €30m budget for the whole group. Growing competition from private operators, however, might push the state television group to restructure. ENTV currently gets 25% to 30% of its revenues from advertising and sponsorship initiatives, but the emergence of new channels might bring a more diluted distribution of advertising money.

Furthermore, competition for talent is also set to increase. “It is absolutely necessary that we raise the competitiveness of our chain, both in terms of production quality as well as our human resources,” said Mustapha Bennabi, external relations director at ENTV. “At this point, we are still a state television, not a public service channel,” he added.

LEGAL ISSUES: The legal status surrounding Algeria’s emerging private television scene is still largely undefined. Despite the addition of a handful of private television operators into the Algerian broadcasting scene in the past two years, they are in legal terms not authorised to operate, but are nonetheless tolerated by the authorities. Some of the new TV chains currently work under a legal status similar to the accreditation given to the bureau of a foreign television station, which means that in the current legal limbo, new television chains in Algeria could easily be shut down by authorities for lack of legal documentation. Even so, these new players are challenging the established ENTV channels, transmitting from Europe or other countries until the new broadcasting laws allow them to base themselves on Algerian territory. Private television channels include El Chorouk TV, Ennahar TV, El Djazaïriya TV and Al Maghribia.

Launched by private media agency Full Media, El Djazaïriya TV started its broadcasts at the beginning of 2012 through Nilesat and has been focusing on gaining an audience in North Africa and the Middle East, as well as offering programming to Algerians in Europe. Mid-2013 saw the appearance of a fifth private television provider in the country. In June, Al Atlas TV started broadcasting from France using Hotbird and Nilesat, offering a mix of films, fiction series, talk-shows, sports news and cookery programmes.

MEDIA LAW: Media legislation passed at the end of 2011 weakened the status of journalists in Algeria and imposed a series of new rules on reporting and coverage. Limitations were imposed on the publication of reports about a dozen issues relating to national security and the country’s identity. Breach of the new regulations can bring fines of €3000 and potential jail terms for offenders. Complementing the new law, the authorities announced the creation of an independent commission to oversee the sector, which was included in a January 2012 law.

Media companies are hoping the regulations will introduce a more closely identified definition of the profession but also help them gain more autonomy from the government. One such change is expected to see approvals for new press licences to become the responsibility of the new press commission, as opposed to the Ministry of Justice, which is presently in charge of these. More of an auto-regulatory role for the sector will come from the new commission’s ability to impose fines on journalists breaking the new media law, but jail terms are set to be eliminated.

A more stringent interpretation of ownership laws for media companies is also expected to come, limiting newspaper ownership to people with at least 10 years’ journalistic experience. Ownership titles for a newspaper will also be individual and non-transferable, meaning that economic muscle alone will not be enough to take control of a newspaper venture. “This is important in preventing newspapers from falling under the influence of business owners,” said Fattani. Another change could come from the widely expected creation of a circulation authority. This would manage the stated publication figures of Algerian newspapers on a daily basis. Every title will need to publish their printing numbers, not only for the present daily edition but also for the previous day’s. The circulation authority will then be able to compare a publication’s claimed print figures with those given by the print houses themselves. There is still no clear deadline for the new media regulations to be implemented, although additional delay might also come with the presidential elections due in 2014.

ONLINE NEWS PLATFORMS: Slowly gaining an audience, online media platforms vary in their offers while trying to attract Algeria’s estimated 5.2m internet users. Much of what is currently on offer is a mix of newspapers that have complemented their physical paper with an online presence and news platforms and general interest websites that have based their existence exclusively on the web. One example of the latter is Algérie Focus, a news and information website that sees approximately 1m visitors per month. The news site has 15 permanent staff and finances itself through advertisements, as well as selling some of its news pieces to mainstream newspapers. Its owner, Kamel Haddar, recently launched another online newspaper aimed at women, called 31 Femme. Through connecting the new websites with an online sales platform, Haddar hopes to get a more stable source of financing for his web ventures.

Another news site, Maghreb Emergent, sets out to cover the whole region, with news and analysis, as well as a specific section on individual country policy. TSA – Tout Sur L’Algérie – offers general information about Algerian current events, including a video section and an area for interviews with newsmakers. These news sites are competing with the print media’s own internet ventures. “Some press titles are moving to online. But they are not necessarily prepared, because they have been always focused on print, so are not accustomed to the online platforms,” Haddar told OBG.

Online news providers are also hoping to get a boost from the long-awaited opening of the 3G internet market. This will broaden internet access, encouraging access to news through mobile phones and allowing news sites to more easily customise content.

OUTLOOK: The Algerian media scene is going through a transition phase. Whilst stringent regulations implemented in 2011 have made the environment harder to navigate for several private newspapers, the lack of definition in broadcasting laws has allowed private television operators to stake a claim in what was previously a state monopoly. Looking ahead, newspapers are likely to remain at the heart of the sector, while online platforms will continue to grow in popularity, especially alongside the introduction of 3G internet.