Saudi Arabia Leads Streaming Gains in Gulf Arab Nations, as Pay-TV Market Contracts (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentSaudi Arabia is leading the way as streaming platforms continue to gain traction in top Arab markets, where revenues from the SVOD market in 2021 grew a yearly 29% to $453 million.New research from Media Partners Asia reveals that Saudi accounted for more than half of the revenues.

However, the pay-TV sector in Gulf Arab states suffered a 10% drop in revenues to $631 million in 2021, compared with 2020.The pay-TV sector in the region is now expected to further contract to $436 million by 2026, according to the report, which looks at streamers, pay TV and free TV across the six oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

By contrast, SVOD revenue in the Gulf is projected to grow from its current level of $453 million to reach $667 million by 2026, “driven by improvements in connectivity, elevated levels of pay-TV cord cutting and the launch of new global platforms,” the report said.While Saudi Arabia accounted for more than half of the Gulf’s $453 million SVOD intake, the UAE, despite having a much smaller population, generated $125 million, which is 28% of the region’s 2021 SVOD revenues.Nevertheless, profitability “remains a challenge,” noted Media Partners analyst Aravind Venugopal, since competition will soon be steeped with more streamers set to enter what will soon become a crowded Arab streaming field.