Satellite Continues to be the Strongest Mode of Distribution in the MENA region
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 8, 2021--Satellite continues to remain the strongest mode of content distribution in the region, with 93% total market share, despite the accelerated uptake of IPTV and streaming services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to new market study undertaken by Arabsat in conjunction with Ipsos in 2020.
The MENA region is home to a variety of satellite TV channels offering a mix of genres to cater to the diverse tastes of its viewers, with the most preferred TV-watching languages in the region besides Arabic and local languages, being English, French, and Turkish.
MENA TV viewership boasts a young, vibrant, and diverse community with 69% of end users responsible for satellite selection in their home. The study showed that satellite TV viewership in the region comprises largely of citizens at 97% while expats make up the remaining 3%, which can be split equally between Arabs and others.
The vast majority of viewers are quite young with 81% of them in the below-44-year age group while the remaining are in the 45- to 60-year bracket. At least 45% of viewers are less than 30 years in this mix, which illustrates the strong sustainable relevance of satellite TV also amongst younger TV audiences in MENA.
The study showed that entertainment programmes lead the satellite TV market, with 77% of the viewership followed by news with a 56% share.
It further revealed that other popular programming genres on satellite TV include sports, music, and lifestyle. While sport is watched by 48% of MENA viewers, music attracts 53% of the audience. Education and science programs are at 37%; lifestyle and cookery at 38%; kids programming makes up 37%; and religion and documentary make up 54% and 48%, respectively.
The study also indicated that only 8% of viewers in the MENA region are currently subscribed to pay-TV platforms, with sport being the key driver for pay-TV subscriptions followed by entertainment.
In fact, top pay-TV content comprises 7.2% sports, 2.3% entertainment and 0.5% religion.
To download the full study, click here: http://al-madar.com/
