Digital TV Research Sees Drop in Middle East and North Africa Pay TV Revenues

Middlesex, UK, Jan. 17, 2019 — Pay TV revenues for 20 MENA countries fell by 11% between 2016 and 2018 to just under $3 billion. According to a new study by Digital TV Reserach, given the hangover from the beIN ban and falling ARPUs, revenues in 2024 ($3.28 billion) will still be lower than in 2016 ($3.36 billion).

The study said five countries will contribute 78% of the region’s pay TV revenues in 2024. Turkey and Israel together will supply nearly half the pay TV revenues in 2024.

Concentrating just on the 13 Arabic-speaking countries, pay TV revenues fell by 16% from $1,254 million in 2016 to $1,059 million in 2018. The total will recover to reach $1,432 million by 2024. Pay TV subscriptions fell by 9.5% between 2016 and 2018 to 3.40 million, but will progress to 5.23 million by 2024.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Pay TV in the MENA region has been hit by a Saudi-led ban on the sale of Qatar-backed beIN decoders and subscriptions since mid-2017.”

Published in January 2019, the 200-page PDF and excel report is the firm's ninth edition. The report comes in three parts and includes:

• Outlook: Forecasts for 20 countries in a 47-page PowerPoint document full of charts, graphs and bullet points;
• Excel workbook covering each year from 2010 to 2024 for 20 countries by household penetration, by pay TV subscribers, by pay TV revenues and by major operator. As well as summary tables by country and by platform;
• Insight: Detailed country-by-country analysis in a 73-page PDF document.