Morocco’s Media market set to soar
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 Morocco’s High Audiovisual Communication Authority, the country’s media regulatory body, announced in late March that it has accepted four out of seven finalist applications for private television licenses.
Ahmad Ghazali, HACA’s chairman, pointed out that the commission had already received around 60 applications to set up private radio and television stations since its creation in 2002. During the past years, it has been studying the applications and short-listing possible candidates. For the time being, however, HACA will only give out licenses for 24 radio stations and four TV stations. The most important condition for candidates is a viable and profitable business plan. The once private Moroccan TV station, 2M TV, now partly controlled by Soread Group, announced recently that it had reached $8 million in profits in 2005.
One of the first new television stations confirmed to have obtained a license is a joint French-Moroccan venture. Medi1 Sat, slated to begin broadcasting in July, will be Morocco’s first all-news channel. It is owned by the same proprietary group that owns Medi1 radio station, which broadcasts in Arabic and French. The other approved TV stations include Ritmo TV, a music channel, and TVOM, a general programming station.
The newly-formed TV and radio stations are expected to significantly increase the quantity and quality of local production. HACA’s Ghazali said that one condition stipulates that six percent of annual income should go to buying and producing local programs. Communication Minister Nabil Benabdellah, in a speech addressed to the Moroccan House of Advisors, said that such ventures will bring in investors and spark development in the Moroccan media market.
Although state control over media was relinquished in the 1980’s, real progress did not take place until 1999 when King Mohammad took reign. The king began democratic reforms and eased up restrictions on freedom of speech. Ghazali believes that the plurality of media outlets will be beneficial to the Moroccan political scene. “It’s a move that will deepen democracy and human rights in Morocco,” Ghazali said in a statement.
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