The start of 2016 has been marked by a number of new players launching premium content services in the MENA region. Perhaps the biggest splash came from Netflix who announced a roll out of their service to 130 markets including MENA. In parallel, beIN has announced their beIN Movies service, OSN is enhancing their service […]
The start of 2016 has been marked by a number of new players launching premium content services in the MENA region. Perhaps the biggest splash came from Netflix who announced a roll out of their service to 130 markets including MENA. In parallel, beIN has announced their beIN Movies service, OSN is enhancing their service offering, and a number of telcos such as Etisalat, du and Ooredoo have made announcements about new service offerings and content partnerships in different markets. Other global players such as Google and Amazon are undoubtedly keeping a watchful eye as the market unravels.
While there is a lot of market activity, there seems to be a shortage of data from the MENA region, for marketers to make the most appropriate business decisions in this part of the world. In order to help address this need, Ipsos launched a pan MENA research study which was completed in early January 2016. The objective of the study which interviewed 5,116 internet users across UAE, KSA, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Morocco, was to help understand the market potential, the willingness to pay, brand preferences, and barriers and drivers to adoption of premium content services across MENA. The study was designed to represent internet users aged 15 and over across these markets, representing around 42 million adults in MENA.
The research study uncovered a number of interesting insights which are available in detail in the full report. Some notable findings:
- MENA consumers clearly want premium content. Across the six markets covered in the study, all – with the exception of Lebanon – rated watching movies as their favourite content related pastime, with an average of 66% of MENA internet users surveyed enjoying watching movies, compared to 56% who enjoy listening to music and 40% who enjoy reading books.
- Furthermore, MENA internet users are already looking up movies online. Around two in three (65%) on average, have accessed movies online over the past 12 months, compared to 47% that have accessed music videos, and 45% who have accessed TV shows
- Arab consumers are also willing to pay for content. 54% are paying for content in physical form such as CDs, DVDs, cinema tickets or books. Equally, an average of 54% of Arab internet users across our six markets have paid for content online over the past 12 months, particularly driven by smartphone platforms, as consumers are increasingly used to paying for mobile apps and games. The a la carte model of the likes of iTunes and Google Play store is well established, where consumers have carried out transactions over the past 12 months in the form of pay to own content. Evidently, 45% of consumers have paid to download a movie, video game, mobile game, mobile app, or music tracks.
- While an a la carte model is the most common form of paying for content today, consumers in the study expressed a preference for a monthly subscription, based on an all you can eat model across all the markets. On average, 34% expressed this preference, compared to 18% who preferred pay to own.
- With respect to premium online video services, the market is open in consumer minds, no specialist premium brand owns this space today. When asked to list spontaneously online platforms for streaming movies or TV shows in MENA, YouTube is top of mind for around 40% of Arab internet users, followed by iTunes and Google Play, both with 5% of mentions. Netflix received 3% top of mind awareness, and a further 35% are unable to think of a brand that offers these services in the region.
- As internet users in the MENA region consider their subscription plans to premium content services over the next 12 months, 36% on average consider they would take up a free trial, while just over half of those (around 22%) consider they would actually subscribe.
- Unsurprisingly, the biggest barriers to considering taking out a subscription were the perceived cost and the availability of free content elsewhere including YouTube and Facebook. In Lebanon and Morocco the speed of internet connection was also cited as an important barrier to adoption.
- When it comes to paying for content, Sports was number 1 in the GCC markets covered (30%). Hollywood releases (21%) and international TV series (17%) were also popular. Arabic movies or TV series were important for 10% of users on average.
- Finally, the same study pertained to the current usage and attitudes towards ad blocking software. This is important as premium content can be delivered in exchange for advertising as well as for payment. The study found that consumers in the MENA region are willing to trade off advertising for compelling content. On average, 56% of consumers have heard of ad blocking software and around one in five have ever used ad blocking software to date. A further third consider they would use it during 2016. The good news for publishers is that 70% of the MENA internet users interviewed would turn off ad blocking if their favorite sites or apps blocked content as a result.
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