Arab non-scripted TV shows are helping to boost the Middle East’s “increasingly dynamic” TV market, a Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) and Doha Film Institute (DFI) report has found.
The growth in locally made talk shows, game shows, reality shows and children’s TV programming is being well received in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), according to the NU-Q/DFI study.
The region currently has 50 million TV households, dominated by free-to-air (FTA) satellite television. Other broadcast platforms, including cable and digital terrestrial television (DTT) remain relatively small in the region, although Internet protocol TV (IPTV) is growing faster than the global average in high-bandwidth Gulf markets such as UAE and Qatar.
MENA’s traditional TV industry is worth over US$3.37 billion in revenues in 2015, comprising over $2.39 billion in FTA advertising and $0.75 billion in pay-TV subscription revenues.
“Pay-TV and online video services still constitute a small part of the industry compared to other parts of the world, but account for much of the recent growth. TV players along the value chain are increasingly engaging with digital possibilities, opening up new revenue streams. YouTube’s impact in the region has already been impressive. The recent entry of international players such as Starz Play and heavyweight Netflix into the region will benefit consumers through more non-linear programming at lower prices,” according to the report.
Previous research by NU-Q found regional audiences hungry for content reflecting their own culture as well as media from elsewhere in the world, though hampered by limited mass-market options open to them. Recent expansion of media channels is diminishing this disconnect, the study found.
“Over the past several years, NU-Q has been building a body of research that takes a keen look at media and entertainment consumption in the region. This most recent collaboration with the Doha Film Institute is an opportunity to look at the other side of the equation: the organisations and businesses that produce and distribute content,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO, Northwestern University in Qatar.
Doha Film Institute CEO Fatma Al Remaihi added: “It is heartening to see from the study that the emergence of new systems, entities and collaborations across the region has contributed to an increase in the number of films being produced. It is imperative that we sustain this momentum through more co-productions and joint venture initiatives to meet the growing appetite for Arab content in the region.”