Pay TV subscriber distribution in MENA region in 2018, by provider

In 2018, 27 percent of pay-TV subscribers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region were subscribed to beIN Media.

TV versus the internet in MENA

Television was still one of the most important entertainment sources in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region although it has been losing popularity compared to the internet. Most of the public watch TV but the daily viewing has been decreasing over time. This decline was most visible in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

On average, the time spent online by adults in the region increased drastically and has surpassed the time spent watching TV in most countries except Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Households were shifting to watching online TV with more than three million households in Egypt watching TV and videos online in 2017. According to Forbes Middle East, the top watched TV channels were Al Arabiya, Al Jazeera, and Rusiya Al Yaum which are all news channels. Egypt was one of the countries with the largest media industries in the region. 38 percent of Arab language TV series were produced in Egypt during non-Ramadan seasons, and more than 50 percent during Ramadan.

TV revenues MENA

  Compared to many other international markets, TV in the MENA region is still mostly operated by free-to-air (FTA) as well as direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting. FTA represents the majority of TV revenue in the region with a smaller percentage coming from pay-TV subscriptions. The largest share of consumers who pay for online TV programs was in UAE at only 12 percent in 2018.

Having said that, the TV sector is currently undergoing a shift. It is increasingly turning to more pay-TV and over-the-top (OTT) options. OTT TV and radio revenue of the MENA region was expected to reach around 1.7 billion U.S. dollars by 2022.