The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) video industry grew revenue 11% year-over-year in 2021 to US$1.9 billion.
According to a new report from Media Partners Asia (MPA), SVOD contributed 23% of total GCC video industry revenue, while AVOD contributed 26%. Total online video revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% to reach US$2.1 billion by 2026, with SVOD contributing 31% and advertising 34%.
As streaming continues to boom, the pay-TV sector saw a 10% decline in 2021 to $631 million. This sector is expected to contract further to reach US$436 million by 2026.
The report goes on to note that ad-supported free terrestrial and satellite broadcasting generated $366 million in revenue in 2021, down 3% year-over-year. This sector will also continue to contract, reaching US$311 million by 2026, while accounting for 15% of total GCC video industry revenue (from 40% in 2016).
MPA Vice President Aravind Venugopal said: “In 2021, some of the momentum of COVID-19, which accelerated the adoption of online services, has begun to wane. While subscriber additions slowed in 2021 as Covid-related restrictions eased, an increase in the content pipeline for SVOD platforms resulted in flat to marginal subscriber growth for most operators.
“In the medium term, the launch of new platforms and the increase in the scale and frequency of investment in premium content by SVOD players should lead to future net additions of new customers. However, profitability remains a challenge with increased competitive intensity, which will only increase with the launch of TOD, Disney+ and HBO Max beINowned over the next 12-24 months.
Comments are closed.