un omm ica C tio s n s Ankit, J Mass Communicat Journalism 2014, 4:2 a & M J o f u DOI: 10.4172/2165-7912.1000174 o Journal of r l n a a n l r i s u m o J ISSN: 2165-7912 Mass Communication & Journalism Research Article OpenOpen Access Access Motives of Arabic Speaking Viewers for Watching English or Dubbed TV Programs Ahmed Ankit* External Relations & Cultural Affairs, Ajman University of Science and Technology, UAE Abstract This research studies the motives that lead Arabic-speaking university students to watch television programs in English or dubbed in Arabic, and diagnoses the possible effects of these programs on these young people. A field study was conducted on a sample of viewers of the MBC2 and MBC4 Channels in the UAE. A questionnaire was used as a tool to cover a sample of the community comprised of 200 young people who attend various public and private universities in the UAE, aged generally between 18 and 30. The applied study proves that there is no relationship between gender and audience preference, and that there is an independence of respondents’ academic specialization and choice of channel. The study’s results show that learning English is among the most important motives for the respondents to watch these programs and that 90% of respondents believe that watching foreign programs has negative effects on university youth. Keywords: Translation; Dubbing; TV programs; Subtitles cultural features. TV programs are very influential in those societies, as they constitute a significant source of information and entertainment. Introduction As Guttman [1] wrote: One of the most striking features of the recent revolution in Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention communication and information technology is the emergence and hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own global dissemination of satellite transmission. Satellite transmission actions to inform them what to do. Fortunately, most human behavior is divided into different international institutional clusters, each with is learned observationally through modeling: from observing others strategic economic, political, cultural, and social goals and directions. one forms an idea of how new behaviors are performed, and on later Satellite transmission has become a multi-dimensional investment occasions this coded information serves as a guide for action [2]. area. Billions of dollars have been spent on achieving the objectives of the investing states and institutions. Among the results of these Research importance developments is the emergence of effective and influential actors. Thus, This research examined the motives that lead university students communities are undergoing enormous change in their reactions. in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to watch English programs and to Communities in the Arab world are affected by these developments, diagnose the effects of these programs. The significance of this study as they import communication techniques and undergo their effects lies in the fact that recorded media is the medium through which the with no active role in the audio-visual communication fields at the masses gain access to information as well as entertainment. The media international level. Thus, there is an abundance of satellite channels plays a very important role in everyday life, and television is a widely that target Arabs, especially young people, who represent almost half of used tool for mass communication. Students are a conscious part of the the population of Arab societies. Imported programs are overwhelming nation as well as the main viewers of TV programs, so their opinions to the extent that local programming cannot compete for influence on about those programs and their effects have a profound significance in society. The Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) is among society. the channels that have the greatest viewing audience in the Arab world, particularly through their offering of English-language programs and Research goals programs dubbed into Arabic. In fact, dubbing has become a very (1) To shed light on the inception of the MBC Group and to attractive approach to viewers who want to identify with the characters examine the nature of the MBC2 and MBC4 programs that they in these programs and find discourse in Arabic more accessible. broadcast for young people; Background (2) To diagnose the issue of students watching foreign programs, The era of the media and information revolution has had an enormous impact on the thinking trends of young generations. Some phenomena observed among young people, especially university *Corresponding author: Ahmed Ankit, Associate Professor, External Relations students, include indifference, neglect, and dereliction of duties, & Cultural Affairs, Ajman University of Science and Technology, UAE, Tel: +9716- 7055550; Fax: +9716-7483866; E-mail: [email protected] poor creativity, lack of initiative and excellence, and a prevalence of behavioral abnormalities. As Guttman [1] maintained, “One of the Received October 22, 2013; Accepted January 21, 2014; Published January 28, 2014 interesting shifts that the communication devices, digitalized media and the internet have started to bring into our lives, is the possibility for Citation: Ankit A (2014) Motives of Arabic Speaking Viewers for Watching English or Dubbed TV Programs. J Mass Communicat Journalism 4: 174. doi:10.4172/2165- the decentralization of power hierarchy structures within the society”. 7912.1000174 Arab countries are witnessing changes just like the rest of the Copyright: © 2014 Ankit A. This is an open-access article distributed under the world, but they come in different forms, as the communities in the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and Arab world tend to be conservative and to cling to their distinctive source are credited. J Mass Communicat Journalism ISSN: 2165-7912 JMCJ, an open access journal Volume 4 • Issue 2 • 1000174 Citation: Ankit A (2014) Motives of Arabic Speaking Viewers for Watching English or Dubbed TV Programs. J Mass Communicat Journalism 4: 174. doi:10.4172/2165-7912.1000174 Page 2 of 7 whether in English or dubbed; and ARA TV Cable Company. The ARA Group emerged as a Saudi center specializing in television production. It should be noted that the (3) To examine the views of researchers on the possible effects of ARA Group entered into an agreement in London with the US United TV programs on young people; International Holding Company, specializing in cable distribution (4) To study why university students prefer to watch foreign around the world, to provide cable services throughout the Arab region. programs on the MBC4 and MBC2 channels. MBC Group has attracted a large number of viewers in the Arab Assumptions world, owing to its being a pioneer in broadcasting, its expertise, and its contracts with leading Arab and foreign media production companies. The research is built around the following assumptions: It focuses on emotional and excitement factors in addressing young (1) The broadcasting of foreign programs in the UAE has both Arab and Muslim people, satisfying young men’s and women’s desire advantages and disadvantages. The extent to which it is possible to for Western entertainment regardless of the conservatism of the Arab take advantage of the advantages and avoid the disadvantages depends community. The financial and political support enjoyed by MBC has on the nature of education, level of consciousness, and culture of the led to its popularity among Arab viewers. Its drama and talk shows are audience; very popular among young Arab viewers. (2) University students in the UAE like to watch Western programs The network includes nine TV channels: MBC1, MBC2, MBC3, on MBC4 and MBC2 channels; MBC4, MBC Max, MBC Drama, MBC Persia, MBC Action, and Al- Arabya, in addition to two radio stations: MBC FM, which plays Gulf (3) The growing tendency for young people in the UAE to watch music, and Panorama FM, which delivers contemporary Arab hit foreign programs represents a social and cultural phenomenon worthy music. It also includes the O3 Productions Company, which specializes of study and analysis; in documentaries, as well as the Middle East News Company (MEN). (4) Emirati university students tend to watch Western programs Several leading websites have emerged from the Group, including produced in the source language, English, or dubbed into Arabic. www.mbc.net, www.alarabiya.net, and www.alaswaq.net. Despite the difficulty in accurately counting the number of viewers of MBC’s Research limitations channels, some sources estimate the number of Arab viewers attracted by these channels at nearly 50,000, most of them Saudis. Our research analysis has the following limitations: MBC1 began broadcasting on September 18, 1991, after the end (1) Number of viewers: we only surveyed university students; of the first Gulf War. It is the only MBC Channel that broadcasts in (2) Time: the research took place within the academic year 2011- Arabic, showing movies, series, and programs with Arab artists and 2012; actors. In 1994, MBC FM was launched, offering Arab and Gulf music. In 2002, the headquarters of MBC moved from London to Dubai (3) Geography: the subjects were students at public and private Media City. The group extended its activities and inaugurated new universities in the UAE. stations specializing in various areas. In 2003, MBC2 was launched, Methodology specializing in foreign films, especially those from the United States. This channel is one of the best-known free channels specializing in This research is descriptive by nature, as it describes the MBC these programs. On March 3, 2003, the satellite channel Al Arabiya Group viewing community and diagnoses a phenomenon that has was created to cover the war in Iraq. Al Arabiya is a news channel emerged with the advent of advanced technology that allows viewers to that broadcasts bulletins around the clock in addition to presenting view programs either in their original language or dubbed into Arabic.