Gear One shifts into new programming grid
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 Gear One channel, the Middle East’s only Arab automotive channel on air since December 2005, rolled out a new programming grid in late February. The four-hour grid will feature programs varying from motor sports to test drives to car and race history.
Ahmad Ajam, senior producer at Gear One, told the MEB Journal that the channel is now producing 60 percent of its shows while only importing the remaining 40 percent, which are in turn dubbed or translated into Arabic. However, despite being a 24-hour channel, there will only be four hours of new programming, each day. The shows are then repeated daily to fill the remaining programming hours “We don’t have enough content for a full grid yet,” says Ajam. “But we are working hard to increase production hours.”
He says Gear One’s new show Souk Assayarat (The Car Market), a live auction-style program, has proved to be a big hit among viewers. “Calls light up the switchboard nearly an hour before it even starts.” The live two-hour show is broadcast twice a week and features a host showcasing six cars to be sold. The cars’ owners are also present on set and can take part in the sales process. “Sometimes the owners step in and haggle with the callers,” Ajam explains. “It’s a show that suits the regional market. Arabs love to negotiate.” Wheels and Gears, another weekly half-hour show, explores three cars in every episode by showcasing them in an artistic way.
Owned by the Abu Dhabi-based GBS conglomerate, Gear One will mainly generate its revenue from ad sales in contrast to sister channels Music Plus and Awtar which are largely dependent on SMS and chat bar revenues. “We’ve just set up our updated grid so we could actually squeeze ads between programs,” Ajam says. Advertising on the channel will be handled by Strategic Media, which also handles the accounts of nine motor-related publications. “Souheil Hammoudi, the owner of Strategic Media, has been in the industry for 20 years. “He’s got all the car companies asking when they can advertise on Gear One,” Ajam says.
The channel is available free-to-air on Nilesat, but there are talks to include it in E-vision, the Dubai-based cable company. “We are still negotiating the terms with E-vision but the process usually takes a while. Meanwhile, some people with cable are hearing about us but don’t get to watch us.”
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