MEA Pay-TV Revenues to Reach $8 Billion in 2014

LONDON: Pay-TV revenues across the Middle East and Africa are expected to reach $8 billion this year, up from $4.84 billion in 2010, according to a new report from Digital TV Research.

Digital TV penetration is forecast to reach two-thirds of total TV households in MEA by the end of the year, after having crossed the halfway mark in 2011. Digital TV penetration is expected to reach 73.8 percent in the Middle East and North Africa and 57.1 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.

The MEA region will reach 89.3 million digital TV households by the end of the year, up by 12.4 million during the year and up by 32.4 million since 2010. Free-to-air satellite TV will become the most popular platform.

Satellite TV will be the top contributor to pay-TV revenues in the region, with its share of the total rising from 77.5 percent in 2010 to 78.8 percent in 2014. Pay-TV revenues in the Middle East and North Africa will increase from $3 billion in 2010 to $4.4 billion in 2014; sub-Saharan Africa will double over the same period to $3.6 billion.

Pay-TV subscriptions are expected to spike by 75.5 percent, from 16.3 million in 2010 to 28.7 million by the end of 2014. IPTV is growing rapidly and should overtake digital cable soon.