THE UTILIZATION OF DIRECT SATELLITE BROADCASTING (DBS) IN SAUDI-ARABIA

This study concerns the utilization of direct satellite broadcasting ( DBS) in Saudi Arabia. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents owned or ha d regular access to satellite TV and watched an average of 21.4 hours per week. Principal components analysis of gratifications sought from DBS yielded six factors: Availability/Variety of Quality Programs, Int ercultural, Surveillance, Sexual Curiosity/Identification, Censorship (alternative to), and Religious Information. Three avoidance factors e merged from a separate analysis: Religious Beliefs, Western Commercial ization, and Sex & Violence. Results indicate that a mix of technologi cal, political, economic, cultural, and religious forces has given ris e to a number of strong motivations to adopt DBS, despite a ban on sat ellite receiver ownership. Although perceived disadvantages have motiv ated some individuals, particularly religious conservatives, to avoid DBS, these non-adopters are a decided minority among the Saudi middle and upper classes.