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DUBAI / WAM
Digital consumption in the Middle East and North Africa region is growing at one of the fastest paces in the world, driven by a large population, fast-improving mobile connectivity and a flood of new streaming platforms in the market, according to an EY report commissioned by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
The report was published ahead of CABSAT, the region’s most influential cable, satellite and broadcast event opening at DWTC on January 14 to 16.
EY compiled their regional analysis, ‘Videonomics’, which pinpoints the growth in online revenues contributing to the current state of the digital market for MENA.
“Digital share of the video revenue pie is projected to rise from 9.6% in 2017 to 17.3% by 2021. Furthermore, teenagers and young adults, who make up the majority in the region, are entering the workforce and becoming paying consumers adding a significant boost to media spends. To capture a piece of this growth, content creators would be well served to focus on relevant genres for this youth audience, which may include sports, premium action or coming-of-age films,” said Ahmed Reda, MENA Telecommunications, Media and Technology Leader at EY. Among the reasons, the report cites the large percentage of young people in the region, particularly those entering the workforce, as a
catalyst for the growth.
Nripendra Singh, Director of Media and Entertainment, EY Africa, India and the Middle East says, “Digital video revenues and viewership are set to grow to by at least 22% annually till 2021 in the MENA region. To ride this new wave, content creators will need to focus on multi language offerings, partnerships across the video value chain, analytics and customer centricity.”
More than 13,000 regional and international industry experts are expected to attend CABSAT this year.