Mtv The World Of Art And Entertainment - 1511 Words

Since its inception in 1981, MTV has been a cultural phenomenon as a leading force for pop culture and has changed the world of art and entertainment. The network captured the hearts (and wallets) of millions of young people and quickly built this American cable channel into a global youth cultural mega empire. MTV Networks (MTVN) has developed a prominent global reputation for its ability to provide content without compromising the MTV culture. However, the company faced its biggest challenge in late 2007 with its launch of MTV Arabia in the Middle East. While the market in the Middle East offered MTV with lucrative business opportunities, the networks controversial content posed the potential to backfire in the conservative environment†¦show more content†¦This posed many challenges as MTVN is American based and culturally controversy-focused. Challenges: Understanding the Arab culture cross-cultural communication MTVN had to devise a globalization strategy to advance into the Arab world, where the youth population shares similar aspirations and consumption behavior. However, they needed to form a strategy that’s also tailored to the cultures of the region. Not understanding the cultural differences is laden with danger, as the Arab youth also regard religion as highly significant and fear diluting of traditions and values. The social dilemma—since The Arab world is full of rich and diverse communities, cultures, and sub-cultures, each country holds varying perspectives. Differences not only exist among countries, but within them as well. For instance, although Arab women are generally subservient to men, the extent varies greatly by country. The more restrictive environments exist on the Arabian Peninsula, and more liberal communities exist in the urban areas of Syria and Lebanon. The Arabian management style is also very hierarchical, opposite of the largely egalitarian style of the western world. Adaptive local content—in the UAE, approximately 65% of citizens are also under the age of 25 according to Debapratim Purkayastha in MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge (2008, p. 6). Considering that MTVN’s target audience has always