The investment rate in video and digital content platforms in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach $270m to $320m.
Saudi Arabia’s digital content market is expected to grow to between SR16 ($4.3bn) and SR20bn ($5.3bn) by 2030, according to a report by the Trend Corporation in cooperation with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
An initiative to invest in video content creation aims to attract major companies specialised in visual content, in light of the interest in launching the filmmaker’s programme in partnership between the Film Authority and the British Film Institute, and the launch of the Electronic Games Accelerator Programme. The investment rate in video and digital content platforms in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach SR1bn ($270m) to SR1.2bn ($320m).
In terms of owning devices and using platforms across the Kingdom, the number of internet users in Saudi Arabia is approximately 33.5m, representing 95.7% of the total population, indicating that the percentage of smartphone users is 98.7%.
According to the report, the percentage of computer users is 64.1%, tablets users are 40.2%, smart TV users are 10.3%, and virtual glasses users are 7.7%.
In terms of the most used social media platforms in the Kingdom, according to the report, YouTube achieved a usage rate of 89.5%, WhatsApp 80.5%, Instagram 76.4%, Facebook 73.9%, and Twitter 71.4%.
Video generated $175m in revenue locally, with video streaming $127m, and the expected market size is $262m in 2025.
In the Middle East and Africa, video traffic has grown eight-fold, and the region is estimated to have created 169bn minutes of video content every month by the end of 2020.
