Arabic market set for SVOD growth

The Arabic market will amass 15 million SVOD subscriptions in the next five years.

According to new figures from Digital TV Research, the region’s subscriber count will almost double in size from the 2021 total of 8.61 million.

Netflix will continue to be the largest service in Arabic countries, growing from 3.44 million in 2021 to 5.41 million. OSN meanwhile will overtake both Shahid VIP and Starz Play, growing from 945,000 in 2021 to 2.56 million (Shahid and Starz Play will amass 1.40 million and 2.21 million respectively).

Amazon will also significantly increase its subscriber total from 758,000 in 2021 to 1.89 million by 2026. Disney+, the other major US player, will not launch in the region in the coming years due to a content deal in place with OSN. 

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Although overall subscriber numbers will climb impressively, there are just too many Arabic platforms. We do not believe that the market can sustain this many Arabic platforms as few of them offer much original or exclusive content.”