The emergence of a plethora of television channels in Pakistan has come in tandem with a growing fixation among Pakistanis for TV. But at no time of the year is the nations love for TV more striking than during Ramazan.
The frequency of television advertisements is an easy measure for ball parking the number of eye balls that marketers expect to catch during the month. "Ramazan is the month to cash in on for TV channels," affirmed a marketing head of a private channel.
"Most people are tuned in around the time of Sehr and Iftar as they await the call to prayer and that is among the best times for marketers to place their ads" he highlighted, adding that average monthly ad revenue generated during Ramazan usually outstrips monthly ad revenues in other months.
This year the race to procure the most acclaimed televangelists provided a prelude to the Ramazan TV show galore. The fact that major TV channels have been embroiled in a tussle to outbid each other for the services of the most famous televangelists, solidifies claim that this specialised breed of TV hosts really reels in audiences.
Religious programming is not the only attraction for audiences and marketers alike; viewers are tuning in more frequently and for longer hours to other channels as well.
But higher TV ratings during Ramazan are not simply a local phenomenon. In fact, so significant is the surge in the number of TV audiences in Muslim majority countries during the holy month that international media groups have also been attracted to the potential earnings.
The most recent and high profile example of this emergent trend is Sony Pictures Television which has decided to launch its latest series of Arabic TV shows during Ramazan. Ziad Kebbi, president of Sony Pictures Television Arabia told FT, "the peak viewing period starts the hour before they break the fast and they want to kill some time".
His company will soon fill that slot with an Arabic version of Everybody Loves Raymond. The televangelists are popular in the Middle East, as they are in Pakistan. But Ray Romanos wise cracks are sure to give them a run for their money. In Pakistan though, it seems that the TV preachers shall continue their reign; at least in this Ramazan.
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