Most MENA markets are projected to grow online video revenues by 22% 35% annually until 2021, stated professional services firm EY in its report on video consumption trends in the region. As a result, digitals share of the video revenue pie is projected to rise from 9.6% in 2017 to 17.3 by 2021%, according to […]
Most MENA markets are projected to grow online video revenues by 22% 35% annually until 2021, stated professional services firm EY in its report on video consumption trends in the region.
As a result, digitals share of the video revenue pie is projected to rise from 9.6% in 2017 to 17.3 by 2021%, according to the report titled Videonomics.
Commenting on the findings, Ahmed Reda, MENA Telecommunication, Media and Technology leader at EY said: The regions digital consumption growth is among the highest in the world. A large youth population, fast-improving mobile connectivity and a flood of new streaming platforms into the market will continue to drive this growth over the next few years.
Subscription and transactional revenues comprise a large share of this digital segment at around 45%. Segmented packages across price points and telco tie-ups for billing have helped in this region, but the trend also points to a new generation that cuts the cord and leapfrogs directly to digital subscriptions.
Elaborating on the way forward, Nripendra Singh, Director, Media and Entertainment, EY Africa, India and the Middle East said: Digital video revenues and viewership are set to grow to by at least 22% annually till 2021 in the MENA region. To ride this new wave, content creators will need to focus on multi language offerings, partnerships across the video value chain, analytics and customer centricity.
MENAs TV market has long been dominated by FTA (Free-To-Air) channels, and consequently, ad-funded business models. The regions consumers have access to over 900 FTA channels and more than 90% of viewership comes from FTA in markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
While the region has seen approximately 500 FTA channels added over the last decade, ad revenue growth has slowed. It appears the ad market is nearing saturation and recorded negative growth in 2016 and 2017.
