Lebanese channels are (still) lost between the traditional and digital world

The past year was a devastating blow for local television stations, some of which weren’t satisfied with their fall programming. As he had a package of programs and dramas, which she sought to enter the competition, with the allocation of important budgets to it. But the Al-Bayader accounts violated the camp accounts, so the ban was carried out. The demonstrations on October 17 swept through this spectacle, counting screens and producing programs in keeping with the spirit of the “revolution.” After about five months, the brightness of the demonstrations dimmed on the screen after some of the main channels experienced clear confusion when dealing with the field and politics. Then came another confusion, which was the gradual return to its usual programming, but the Crown epidemic had sabotaged the scene, hit large productive sectors and contributed to the accumulation of the financial and economic crisis that was not new for the media sector. and its ramifications. Corona appeared to tear down the remaining means of steadfastness on which the screens relied to survive. And a while ago, we entered another fall programming that seemed to be devoid of origin, devoid of any rival spirit or at least equivalent to what was intended to be introduced last year before these strikes. Scenario in which the television channels have repositioned them, with a modest programming, and the change appeared radically evident even in the “Form” on which they were based. Thus, the economic and health crises gradually overlapped and directly affected the programs, their content and manner of execution. The huge studios in which the aerial and ground cameras rotated became much smaller, and the vast area was shortened to a small corner, which could accommodate two guests, to reduce payouts. As for the shows that relied on the audience to vote or applaud, laughter and participation, they dispensed with this feature and consequently lost a lot of credit, especially in interactive social programs (“I’m the heck” in ” New “) and comedies (” Lahoun Wase “in lbci). In depth, the confusion was evident in some of these programming, especially in the so-called social talk shows or even political programs that dominated the screens in the recent period, which were the main pillar after the bombing of the port last August.

With the start of autumn programming and the return of some of the usual programs to the screen, neither traditional nor interactive electronic platforms managed to settle the historical debate between them, so the channels began to oscillate in the adoption of both worlds, without finding a way that harmonized between them. The month of Ramadan and the summer holidays was an opportunity for some channels to strengthen their position in interactive worlds, the most important of which is Instagram, and we saw some experiences on political and artistic talk shows. Even the program “Tony Khalife”, in turn, moved to that platform, without being on screen during the summer period. Certainly, this experience was not well received because we are talking here about a different audience between traditional and digital platforms, and the nature of the program that weighs on interactive platforms. With Corona invading the country and its people, digital technologies have been largely introduced to television channels, in light of the inability of guests to come to the studio, and the “zoom” and “Skype” craze spread. has generalized. Even many of the programs in which the form is considered fixed with the presence of the only guest to the studio, in turn, resorted to these technologies, and conducted massive interviews for more than an hour of television, with these guests. Add to that the change in the content and form of these programs. We are talking about a clear torpedoing of the “I am the devil” idea for which Nishan Derharutyunian was known about the “new”, and his presentation of models that were taboo in Lebanese society whose methods were used with much illusion and superficiality. , in favor of a social talk show, which finds no way to survive other than by welcoming visionaries like Leila Abdel. Al-Latif and Michel Hayek, it became similar to any other program on the same screen or on another channel. The matter has even been supported by some political shows that originally came out to present serious political or economic material, and as we see Albert Costanian (LBCI), for example, is looking for comedy stars to host on his program “Twenty 30”, in a clear break from a context marked by seriousness, debate and problematic issues. In Lebanon and in the world, perhaps with the aim of breaking the rhythm in which the program has been anchored, and trying to move it to another shoulder in the hope of attracting a new audience.
As a result of these changes in traditional television programming, another wave emerged that occurred in the virtual world, and some of them managed to impose their platforms, due to financial and marketing intelligence, and some of them lost the bet, as it happened with the release of “Al-Thawra TV,” which had several faces and numbers. As we started, faced with a lean experience, it received successive blows in performance and the withdrawal of its main pillars. In the interactive virtual scene, the Beirut International, or Beirut City platform, funded by Bahaa Hariri, cannot be overlooked. He knew how to conquer social networks and consolidate his presence even more in the recent period, not because of the importance of the content he presents, but because of the adoption of a game of dazzling, marketing and attracting followers. . The Facebook page alone reached more than two million followers (the absence of fraud in the real figures and accounts has not been confirmed), after it only relied on reporting field events, either in the form of demonstrations or others. Today we are faced with a series of new ones, based on talk shows that run as if they were on screen (studio, filming, directing, lighting …), based on the language of emotion, differentiation and the creation of controversy, as is the case with Tony Khalife’s program “An Embarrassing Question”, which welcomes renowned personalities. It’s controversial and raises embarrassing questions, some of which are superficial.

The nascent online platforms contributed to a widening gap in the world of television.

But in the end, the show fits into the nature of the digital audience, in terms of speed and surprising in the depth of emotion, reductionism and distortion of meanings, while placing (for example) two images, one belonging to the Secretary General of “Hezbollah” Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and the other by Bashir al-Jamil, and on the guest To choose between them! It seems that Khalifa will not be alone in this wave that has started to be very popular on the Beirut city page, with the intention of LBCI to cooperate with her, and to present Mario Abboud with a program broadcast on their platform!
In the end, the final scene was not based on a comprehensive picture of both the traditional and digital world, as the nascent electronic platforms contributed to creating more fissures in the world of television and showed that any platform can be imposed with money, promote and attract familiar faces, and create a game of dazzling and attraction, in exchange for an image. A shocking gauntlet close to the traditional world, the result of its successive crises that managed to break its back, and “patch up” the rest of the programs that were more present and stronger in previous seasons. Their sponsors assumed little, in exchange for their constant appearances on the screen, although the price fell professionally. Right now, the digital world movement is growing and its image is developing in an attractive way. Will the channels catch this scene and take off again, while finding a mediator between the two worlds, and avoiding their crises accordingly, unlike what the “new” did recently, as it left the interactive world and moved? Post it on the screen. We are talking here about the program “Maa Tamam” (Tamam Baliq), whose elements are not suitable for the world of neomedia, and it is confined to a specific television audience, it has even lost many of its followers after this type of program sold out completely.

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