Strong Gains Forecast for Arabic SVOD Market

By 2029, there will be 28 million SVOD subscribers across 13 Arabic-speaking countries, up from 15 million this year, according to Digital TV Research.

Netflix is expected to lead the market at 6 million subs, but local player Shahid VIP won’t be far behind at 5.4 million, with another key regional operator, StarzPlay, in third at 4.9 million. Digital TV Research expects Disney+ will have 3.6 million SVOD subscribers, Prime Video 3.5 million and OSN+ at 2.4 million. The three major local platforms—StarzPlay, Shahid VIP and OSN+—will account for 46 percent of total subscriptions in Arabic markets by 2029.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, noted: “As some of the U.S.-based platforms lower their global rollout and local content commitments, the Arabic players will thrive.”