Its been very quiet in Dubai with the holidays although I shudder to think what turn the traffic might take come September, despite the looming threat of higher fuel charges. In the meantime, this last month, weve been scrambling to get you all the figures about which programmes fared well during Ramadan and whether genre […]
Its been very quiet in Dubai with the holidays although I shudder to think what turn the traffic might take come September, despite the looming threat of higher fuel charges. In the meantime, this last month, weve been scrambling to get you all the figures about which programmes fared well during Ramadan and whether genre appeal has shifted since last year. At the same time, we have seen a spate of new OTT players enter the market and the competition is getting heated up now or then again, are all of them offering the same menu?
Chris OHearn, who heads the Emirates Media Measurement project, suggests that period dramas and other historical series took a backseat this year, unlike in previous years while comedy reigned supreme.
It looks like Ramez Wakel Al Gaw had everyone in splits, while an old favourite, Bab al Hara, had to settle for second place. Six of the top ten programmes for Arabs this year were either animation or comedy, according to Chris. But I wont divulge all the surprises here. Its best to read what he has to say in his column and how social media is helping the cause.
On a different note, we have witnessed a deluge of streaming options in the region, with more services and payment offerings on the cards. However, most of them focus on Hollywood fare and sceptics wonder if this is truly the way to go in the Middle East, where viewers are beginning to demand more Arabic content.
Whats the way forward? Can OTT players identify key differentiators that will fortify their position in this market when the likes of Netflix come in? Karim Sarkis, our guest columnist this month, discusses this in detail and offers a few suggestions to regional OTT players.
