Talk shows and news programs feature interviews with female leaders in business, government, politics and diplomacy, and art and culture. Many satellite services, in contrast to national systems, portray Arab women as involved in economic, educational, and industrial activities. All offer potential benefits to Arab women since they provide a lifeline to rural areas that terrestrial broadcast services do not reach and link the Arab household to the rest of the world. In the last decade, the effects of satellite broadcasting in the Middle East have become more apparent as it has gained in popularity. General illiteracy is a long-time problem that has affected the development of print media in the Arab world.
Most Arab countries have a high illiteracy rate, which is especially high among women.
Since a high percentage of Arab women are illiterate, satellite broadcasting, especially Arabic programming, is of a greater appeal to them than foreign programs, print media and the Internet. As for government control of content, governments cannot censor satellite broadcasts originating outside their countries and cannot control what their people are watching, except through prohibiting satellite viewing. This has been tried and has failed. As a result of access to uncensored programming that adheres in most cases to global production standards, audiences are becoming more discerning. There are certain factors that deeply affect the success of satellite services in terms of reach and impact.