An estimated 48% of movie-intenders plan to view Arabic content according to research agency Kantar TNS.
The General Authority for Audiovisual Media has launched the official twitter account of the Saudi Cinema. The number of followers exceeded 39,000 users, barely two hours after the launch of the twitter account according to Almarsad. It currently exceeds 79,000 four days after the launch.
Were back was the first tweet posted on the account indicating the official return of cinema to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Authorities announced earlier this month their decision to lift a three-decade old ban on commercial cinemas, allowing movie theatres to stage their comeback for the first time since the 1970s.
Saudi Arabia’s announcement to lift the 3-decade old ban on commercial cinemas has brought in a lot of positive sentiment with 80% of the residents supporting the change and 90% planning to visit malls with cinemas more often according to research agency Kantar TNS.
The agency carried the research leveraging its online mobile citizen panel Kantar MobiworkX to understand how citizens feel about the change, and what impact this might have on consumer behaviour.
The development of the entertainment sector is expected to create employment opportunities within the Kingdom, and as multiple entertainment options emerge, travel to UAE and Bahrain is likely to reduce.
For marketers, the step will provide a new platform in cinema advertising, giving further exposure to their brands at a mass scale. Television advertising, however, may be negatively impacted, particularly during weekends, said the study.
Malls too, will find new utility value, and those without cinemas will see a decline in footfall. As per the research, 90% of Saudi residents plan to visit malls with cinemas more often, giving further boost to mall retailers.
Despite the dominant influences of foreign content, Saudi media has an opportunity to grow, with 36% of movie-intenders already planning to view local Saudi content with the figure rising to 48% for Arabic content.
