Behind the Scenes of the Ramadan Schedule

Each year, as Ramadan approaches, conversations come alive with the same questions: which series will set the pace for the evenings, which faces will take center stage after ftour, which programs will become the month’s must-watch appointments?

Behind this popular anticipation, however, lies a methodical process, far removed from improvised intuition or solitary decisions. At the SNRT, the Ramadan schedule is neither an instinctive gamble nor a personal choice. It is part of a structured institutional mechanism, in which every step follows a precise legal and strategic framework.

“Recourse to external production or co-production is not a cyclical choice,” explains Karim Sbai, Director of Communication and Institutional Relations at the SNRT, whom we approached to understand the inner workings of this closely watched annual undertaking.

For the National Company of Radio and Television Broadcasting, a public limited company whose capital is wholly owned by the State, programming first and foremost operates in compliance with a specifications document established by decree.

This document sets out the public service mission, governance principles, and rules relating to audiovisual production. Everything begins at the level of the channel management teams. Even before a project is selected, needs must be identified.

This phase is based on an analysis of audience expectations and viewing trends, supported by marketing studies, the use of media consumption data and, in some cases, focus groups applied to works ready to be broadcast. “Needs are not defined arbitrarily,” Sbai specifies.

During Ramadan—a period marked by intense competition and a significant rise in audience ratings—this analytical approach is reinforced. The schedule is thus built on measurable indicators, with the stated goal of reconciling quality, closeness to the audience, and attractiveness.

This strategic work fits within a precise regulatory architecture. The specifications require a balance between in-house production, ready-to-broadcast external production, and co-production.

This distribution, set by quotas, frames programming and structures the national audiovisual ecosystem. In this respect, the SNRT claims a role in supporting Moroccan production, while ensuring compliance with rules of competition and transparency.

It is at this stage that calls for tenders come in—the real cornerstone of the system. They are launched at least twice a year: one month after the end of Ramadan and six months before the next.

The timeline is telling: the holy month is prepared almost as soon as it ends. The calls are published on the SNRT’s dedicated electronic platform as well as on Morocco’s public procurement portal, and submissions are made exclusively through an e-submission system. According to Sbai, this procedure is intended to guarantee equal opportunity among production companies and to ensure transparent and secure handling of applications.

Once projects have been submitted, selection is not the result of an isolated decision. It goes through a committee made up equally of internal representatives and independent experts specializing in audiovisual production and artistic criticism. This committee acts with full independence from management and reports directly to the board of directors.

Any member with a direct or indirect interest in a project is excluded from the process. Selection is therefore part of a system designed to prevent conflicts of interest and guarantee objective choices.

Reviewing the applications is carried out in several successive stages. First, an administrative check, then a technical and artistic evaluation focusing on originality and fit with the identified needs.

Next comes the financial analysis, conducted by a dedicated technical committee. The procurement regulations set an estimated budget for each program in advance, with a limited allowance for overruns.

If necessary, negotiations may be undertaken to adjust costs without altering the validated artistic and technical components. At the end of this process, the results are forwarded to the board of directors, the only body empowered to grant final approval to the selected choices.

Within this decision-making chain, the Chief Executive Officer does not intervene in either the selection or the validation of projects. “The Chief Executive Officer ensures the implementation of the decisions adopted,” Sbai emphasizes. Programming thus follows a collegial logic, embedded in a clearly defined institutional framework.

At the end of this process, the Ramadan schedule must meet a double imperative: satisfy the expectations of Moroccan families while respecting public service values.

Programs are assessed against technical and financial criteria, but also according to how well they align with the channel’s editorial identity. Data-analysis tools and ethics committees round out this arrangement.

In the end, the ftour series is not merely a matter of casting or buzz. It is the outcome of a formalized pipeline, punctuated by studies, quotas, technical evaluations, and administrative approvals.

It is within this precise framework that, each year, the holy month’s audiovisual offering is built. One question remains, at the heart of this well-oiled mechanism: in such a tightly mapped-out framework, what room is left for artistic boldness?