Can the FT and IHT make money?

The UAE has a large, growing and increasingly wealthy international community. People move to the UAE to do business. UAE business is increasingly active in international business. It is cheap to print newspapers and media buyers aren’t too bothered with audits.

These appear to be the reasons behind the forthcoming launch of UAE versions of the International Herald Tribune and the Financial Times. The two papers will follow The Times, UK, in printing local editions; other international newspaper brands are understood to be watching the market. Unlike The Times, the FT and IHT promise some local content.

Can they make money? There is no doubt both are quality products, and that they appeal to a targeted demographic. But can they get copies into the right hands on a regular basis? Dropping free copies in office blocks gets you close, but it cuts off one revenue stream (The Times charges Dh7 per copy) and ‘free’ can often make readers think ‘cheap’.

Advertisers might be won over. Again, both are quality brands, and media buyers are happy to accept a publisher’s word on how many copies are read. Both brands would provide a halo effect for a local publisher’s other titles, so might not be subjected to the same profit demand.

But the biggest beneficiary has to be the reader. If the FT is doing local business stories, in theory it should encourage Emirates Business to improve its content. Likewise, local content in the IHT should inspire The National and Gulf News. The Times sent a team of business journalists to Dubai last year and managed to scoop the local competition on a number of stories. The reader doesn’t care about the financials, just give them the story.