 Star Academy members on stage
Saudi authorities don’t seem to be showing any signs of retreat in their epic battle with reality TV. Mobile phone operators in the Kingdom have once again banned their subscribers from text voting for their favorite contestants on the hit show Star Academy.
Saudi Telecommunications Company STC, the country’s largest mobile carrier with over 11 million GSM subscribers, said its decision to prevent customers from participating in the widely popular format show was justified despite potentially high financial losses.
“This show contradicts our Islamic traditions, values and customs and that has caused the ban on sms voting since it began in 2004, despite the high revenues the company would have achieved from ads and text votes,” STC said in a statement on its website.
Now in its third season, Star Academy has drawn criticism from conservatives due to its formula for cohabitation between 19 male and female contestants as they vie for the top spot that could rocket them to stardom. The show’s interactive component, which includes both SMS voting and onscreen chatting, has generated record revenues and continues to influence the development of similar platforms across regional programming.
UAE-owned Mobily telecom, a newcomer to the lucrative Saudi mobile market, has also prevented its 2 million subscribers from taking part.
But Lebanon’s LBC, which produces the Dutch franchise show, has so far refrained from criticizing the Saudi companies’ decisions and remained tightlipped on how much money it has lost due to the block.
 MBC beautiful
“We just have to respect these companies’ point of view. The decision was certainly negative for the Saudi contestants in the first place and for us and also for the telecom companies themselves,” the source told MEB Journal.
“But those who still want to vote can still do through our website or by calling on the international numbers we have provided,” the source added.
Star Academy’s third season kicked off in December with two contestants from Saudi Arabia, home also to last year’s winner Hisham Abdul Rahman.
Shortly after his winning, Abdul Rahman had a brief altercation with Saudi’s religious police after he was showered with hugs and kisses from black-clad female fans—and male ones—who spotted him in a Riyadh mall.
In recent years, millions of Arab viewers have been hooked on adapted versions of Western reality shows such as Survivor, also produced by LBC, Fear Factor, Pop Idol and more. But it has not been smooth sailing for all shows. In 2004, Arab satellite channel MBC suspended its version of Big Brother, which was being filmed in Bahrain, under a public outcry that cast the show immoral. GWB speaking
“LBC is definitely losing money and maybe even some Saudi viewers who have lost enthusiasm because they may not be able to vote,” said Lebanese producer Danielle Mussalli.
“But like it or not, reality TV is the trend now in the Arab world and all across the globe. And we have to move with it,” she added.
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