Overview-Islamic and Muslim lifestyle VOD and TV programming in the UK

Photo credit: Arogant / Shutterstock.com

There is a robust demand for Islamic or Muslim lifestyle programming in the UK, and dedicated channels such as British Muslim TV and the Islam Channel have emerged to cater to them. What should prospective new players know to successfully address the demand for Islamic or Muslim-focused content in the UK’s media and entertainment sector?

HIGH GROWTH INDUSTRY

The UK’s media and entertainment industry was estimated to be 56.9 billion pounds ($83.1 billion) in 2014, the second largest M&E market in Europe after Germany, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Growth in the UK’s M&E market is projected at 3.2 percent cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) to reach 66.6 billion pounds ($97.2 billion) by 2020, implying an $86 billion market in 2015, with projected growth primarily driven by expected population and GDP increases.

The top three players in the UK television industry by revenue are Sky UK Limited, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and ITV.

Sky is a pan-European satellite broadcasting service with revenues of $12.6 billion in 2014 and over 600 channels available on its platform in the UK, in addition to over 15 of its own channels.

The BBC is a public service broadcaster with revenues of $7 billion in 2015 based on recently released financial statements. The service includes 10 national television channels, 15 network stations, and local radio, regional programming, and online content.

ITV plc is a holding company that owns a network of 15 channels and its own programming studio. It also provides online content on demand. The company generated revenues of $4 billion in 2014.

RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING

Although there are dedicated religious channels in the UK such as GOD TV and TBN, there has been a notable reduction in religious programming aired on the leading commercial channels.

ITV reduced its programming from 104 hours in 2004 to 2 hours from 2012 onward following the removal of restrictions placed by regulator Ofcom on religious programming requirements, according to a 2014 article by British daily newspaper The Independent. Sky, Channel 4, and Channel 5 offer little to no religious programming.

ROBUST DEMAND FOR ISLAMIC CONTENT

Muslims in the UK account for close to 5 percent of the population, equivalent to over 2.8 million, according to the Muslim Council of Britain. The country’s Muslims are also estimated to have spent $9 billion on media and recreation in 2015.

There is a clear demand among Muslims for Islamic values–based content, and a number of services have emerged to address this demand, including dedicated channels primarily providing Islamic content, mainstream channels that feature Muslim lifestyle programming, and online media platforms.

KEY PLAYERS

Dedicated Muslim channels have been broadcasting in the UK since 2004. Many of these channels, such as Noor TV and Peace TV, often have a South Asian focus to target the ethnic and language groups predominant in Britain’s Muslim community. Hence, their content is broadcast primarily in Urdu and Bengali.

The English-language, UK-based Islam Channel has been an established force in Muslim programming content on UK television since 2004. Islam Channel broadcasts free-to-air across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The channel includes programs on current affairs, education, Islamic values, Islamic doctrine, as well as domestic, financial, and community-related topics.

British Muslim TV is a channel dedicated to Islamic content and Muslim lifestyle programming with the slogan ‘confidently Muslim, comfortably British.’ Launched in 2014, it is a free-to-air, English-language, Islamic-focused satellite television channel funded by advertising and a subscription package.

Alchemiya is a subscription video on demand platform with a world-wide focus that seeks to become a “go-to channel for showcasing the best of Islam.” Launched in 2015, Alchemiya is often referred to as the “Muslim Netflix.” The platform successfully raised 60,000 pounds ($75,000) on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube and targets the ABC1s of the Muslim world.

MAINSTREAM CHANNELS

As part of their normal programming, mainstream channels produce content that reflect and represent Britain’s Muslim minority.

As a public broadcasting station, the BBC especially has been responsible for many one-off programs as well as series addressing different aspects of Islam and Muslims in Britain.

Citizen Khan is a BBC TV comedy series that started in 2012. It centers on a Muslim family living in a predominantly South Asian Muslim area of England. The series has become popular in the UK and is in its fourth series.

The BBC is well-known for its documentaries addressing Islam and Muslims. For example, journalist Rageh Omaar has presented several Islam-related documentaries for the broadcaster, including The Ottomans: Europe’s Muslim Emperors, a three-parter in 2013; The Hidden Art of Islam in 2012, in which Omaar examined a British Museum exhibition on the hajj; and The Life of Muhammad, another three-part documentary in 2011.

In 2013, Channel 4 aired 4Ramadan, a special programming series that included many programs, such as A Very British Ramadan and Ramadan Diaries, which gave daily insights into the lives of Muslims fasting in modern-day Britain, including a short video of the call to prayer.

CHALLENGES AND CONSIDERATIONS

A key issue in addressing Islamic or Muslim-focused programming is thinking through the objective and impact that the programs should have, and the role such programs have on Muslim identities.

British Muslim TV’s main focus has been to provide a platform for Muslims to find their identify. “An important part of the conversation is who we are—our reference point should not be white Muslims in Hollywood, but for us being both Muslim and British,” British Muslim TV Executive Producer Bilal Hassam told Salaam Gateway.

For channels dedicated to solely Islamic or Muslim-focused programming, especially where the content is based or driven from outside the UK, it is critical to stay within the regulations of Ofcom, the broadcasting watchdog.

In August 2013, Noor TV was fined 85,000 pounds for what Ofcom ruled was “inciting violence” after a host said it was acceptable or even the duty of a Muslim to kill anyone who disrespected the prophet Mohammad. This penalty on Noor TV came after an earlier incident that year in July when Ofcom fined DM Digital, which describes itself as Britain’s most-watched (South) Asian channel, 105,000 pounds after it aired a live lecture by an Islamic scholar who allegedly advocated killing people who insult the prophet Mohammad.

Another challenge is Islamophobia. Channel 4’s 4Ramadan series received 2,011 complaints, making it the most complained about program on Channel 4 for 2013. Channel 4 described the level of Islamophobia as a result of the show as “unexpected.”

© SalaamGateway.com 2016