MENA pay-TV prospects downgraded by $5BN
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Editor
| 06 February 2017

The pay-TV industry in the Middle East and North Africa region has always had to work hard to turn a dollar and this task seems to have become even more difficult, according to a Digital TV Research study.

The report also shows that five countries will contribute more than three-quarters of the region’s pay-TV revenues in 2022. Turkish pay-TV revenue forecasts for 2021 are down $361 million on the last edition, with Israel falling by $220 million, the UAE $174 million and Saudi Arabia $149 million. These four countries account for 90% of the revenue shortfall between the two editions.

Looking at specific players, Digiturk is set to remain the region’s pay-TV operator leader in subscriber terms, by some distance. Second-placed beIN formally acquired Digiturk in September 2016 and is forecast to have 1.67 million satellite TV subscribers by 2022 – ahead of OSN’s 1.5 million. These figures exclude subscribers to their channels on other platforms such as IPTV and cable.

The report suggests that beIN will overtake OSN in 2019. Yet it also forecast that OSN is the largest pay-TV operator when measured in revenue terms, and that its packages are expensive even compared with the most developed countries.

Commenting on the Middle East and North Africa Pay-TV Forecasts report, author and Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said: “Along with long-running conflicts and slower economic growth, several countries (notably Turkey and Egypt) have suffered substantial currency devaluation. OTT is creating competition to traditional pay-TV operators, especially in Israel. It’s not all bad news, with Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE enjoying good growth.”