Although 75% of households in Morocco own a satellite dish, 93% still tune into terrestrial TV, indicating that local terrestrial channels still have a strong foothold in the country.

A new Arab Advisors Group comprehensive survey of GSM users across Morocco provides deep insights into the media usage patterns and habits of this major North African market. The survey reveals that while satellite dishes are widespread across the country, terrestrial TV remains prominent with 93% of respondents stating that they still tune into it. News is the most-watched type of TV program in Morocco, and music remains the primary reason for listening to the radio. In terms of Internet usage, Google is the most frequented search engine amongst Moroccan users, while Hotmail is the most popular email provider.

The 96-page report, which has 120 detailed exhibits, provides the results of a major comprehensive survey of media usage patterns amongst GSM subscribers from different households across Morocco. The survey’s fieldwork was conducted in April and May 2006. The report provides detailed statistical analyses and relevant cross tabulations of the results. Please contact the Arab Advisors Group to get a copy of the report’s Table of Contents and the survey questions.

“Satellites are widespread amongst GSM users in Morocco, with three-fourths of respondents to the survey stating that their household owns a satellite dish. This is a large percentage by any standards and indicates that Moroccan viewers are tuning into the abundance of free-to-air satellite channels available in the region.” Ms. Nadine Usta, Arab Advisors Research Analyst, wrote in the report. “Still, terrestrial TV has a large audience in Morocco, with 93.1% of respondents stating that they watch it. The fact that this percentage is even higher than the percentage of those who own a satellite bodes well for the future of the country’s terrestrial TV industry,” she added.

The survey findings revealed that a majority of Moroccan households (77.9%) tune in to terrestrial TV to watch movies, while 66.6% watch movies on FTA Sat TV channels. Close to 30% of households surveyed used DVDs and a minuscule minority (less than 1%) has Pay TV.

Arab Advisors Group’s major analytical survey of Morocco’s main cities’ populations was scientifically done. The survey involved face to face interviews with 700 respondents from different households in Grand Casablanca, Rabat/Sale, Agadir, Marrakech, Tangir/Tetouan, and Fass, selected randomly in a manner proportionate to the population size of the different areas. All respondents were above 15 years of age and users of GSM services; as such, this random survey is of Morocco’s current GSM users and not of the country’s total population. By end of 2005, Morocco’s GSM penetration stood at 40.8%.

The Arab Advisors Group divided the survey questionnaire into main sections, providing a balanced focus for collecting data on the following areas:

 General TV viewing patterns and habits,
 Major Arabic and non-Arabic satellite TV channels watched,
 Credibility of satellite news channels,
 Pay TV,
 Terrestrial TV,
 Radio,
 Movie viewing, and
 Internet media.

© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)