Middle East: SVoD subs to reach 14m in 2023
May 29, 2018
Dataxis’ research on the digital video market in Middle-East forcasts significant growth over the next 5 years. The growth will mainly be driven by the progression of SVoD services, which are expected to account for 14 million subscribers in 2023, up from around 3 million in 2017. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UAE will continue to count among the leading countries in terms of subscribers and revenues.
Even though the blended average revenue per user (ARPU) remains under $5 in the region, digital video revenues are foreseen to increase substantially, with SVoD’s subscription revenues accounting for almost 90 per cent of the total in 2023.
Nonetheless, the market remains far from reaching its full potential. The strong take off observed in the region must be seen in relation with the overwhelming presence of free-to-air content and with the persistent lack of connectivity in certain countries. The market is thus expected to continue to rise provided that the deployment of broadband and a notable change in habits spread throughout the region.