The study examines Saudi women’s perspectives and preferences regarding watching Saudi local drama. It investigates viewing habits and use patterns quantitatively, employing an adapted Uses and Gratification theory (U&G) model. An online questionnaire was completed by 442 Saudi women aged between 18-50 years, and the results indicated the most popular channels were MBC 1, and SBC. Approximately half (45.2%) of the participants were aged 31-40 years, and most were married. As anticipated, the findings revealed the participants watch drama for between one and three hours daily, with nearly half watching from one to two hours daily, and the majority prefer to watch alone. The most popular drama by percentage of viewers was Shabab Al Bomb, and comedy was identified as the favourite drama category. Interestingly, the study discovered that while Saudi women favoured local drama, because it more accurately represents their reality, they observed it does not realistically portray Saudi women. It was further found that Saudi women watch drama less frequently during Ramadan, due to a lack of spare time and a preference for engaging in religious or family activities at that time. Finally, a statistically significant relationship between the participants’ age group and their viewing of MBC Drama, as well as a statistically significant relationship between preferred drama genre, age and marital status emerged. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between participants’ marital status and their preferences regarding the country of origin of the drama they watched.

Authors:
Merfat Alardawi, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

About the Presenter(s)
Currently, I am a supervisor of Communication Department. I interested in Television, film and radio studies. Media, drama and soap opera studies. Audience studies and gender. Comparative cultural studies and cultural analysis. Quantitative and qualitative analysis. Qualitative-ethnography, qualitative, quantitative research and ethnographic research. Mass Communication. Artificial intelligence in film industry. Podcasts studies.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/merfat-alardawi-8678b5111

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https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Merfat-Alardawi

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