The 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region are set to have 32.65 million subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) customers by 2026, up from the 14.16 million recorded at the end of 2020 says a study from Digital TV Research.
The Middle East and North Africa OTT TV and Video Forecasts report found that Turkey will remain the market leader by a considerable distance, with nearly 14 million subscriptions by 2026.
In terms of individual companies and products, Netflix and Disney+ are to account for about half of the region’s total by 2026, despite Disney+ only starting in 2022 in a limited number of countries and having only 808,000 customers at the end of 2021. The absolute projected totals are 11.563 million and 3.549 million respectively. Amazon is forecast to be second placed in the study with 3.647 million subs.
Looking at the key local players, the Middle East and North Africa OTT TV and Video Forecasts report found that due to exclusive deals with Disney+, HBO and Paramount+, OSN is projected to quickly gain subscribers, adding nearly 1.5 million customers for 2.717 million subs in 2026. Starzplay is projected to have 2.286 million by this time, growing 28% in the five year period.