Demand for online video content around the world and in the region is growing with OTT players competing with traditional TV for a market potentially worth $1 billion by 2020, according to ATKearney.
A recent report by GlobalWebIndex (GWI) shows that 31% of total TV viewing is spent on online TV in the MEA region. Furthermore, the average daily time spent watching online forms of TV in the region is one hour and one minute (1:01 hour) which is higher than that in Europe (0:43 hour) but lower than that in Asia Pacific (1:13 hour), North America (1:06 hour) and Latin America (1:02 hour).
This is good news for OTT players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime but even for local players like Starz Play.
Globally, almost twice as many use Netflix as Amazon Prime Video. In the region, too, 22% watch Netflix while 16% watch Amazon Prime.
But, when it comes to market share, Starz Play is leading the market at 26% compared to Netflix’s 15%, according to IHS Markit.
The regional VOD service has completed three years since its launch as is now available in 19 countries across the MENA region.
It has also signed a three-year partnership with intigral, one of the region’s leading providers of digital entertainment, sports and solutions, to offer its premium-quality selection of Hollywood and Bollywood movies, at the same time as the US series and Arabic dramas to its subscribers across MENA.
“intigral is one of the renowned names in the digital entertainment industry, and our new partnership allows us to grow even further as a platform,” says Maaz Sheikh, CEO of STARZ PLAY. “From all-time classics like Friends and Grey’s Anatomy to the newest, same-time-as-the-US releases such as Power andBritannia, subscribers can now enjoy our huge portfolio of blockbuster movies and latest TV shows both at home or on-the-go, completely ad free and in full HD.”
