Increasing high speed connectivity, cheaper pay TV, high-definition (HD) TV, and the growing adoption of over-the-top (OTT) videos will redefine the business environment for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) media industry in the next five years, according to Frost & Sullivan. 

 

The global growth consulting firm is the knowledge partner for Cabsat 2016, the leading conference and exhibition for broadcast and digital media industry in the Mena.

 

Frost & Sullivan will release the State of the Industry report on March 8 and moderate a panel with key industry executives from Arab Radio & Television (ART), beIN Media, Eutelsat, Icflix, Intigral, and Yahlive to discuss if and how the Mena media market is ready for a shake-up as a result of disruptive technologies and business models.

 

Vidya S Nath, research director, Digital Media, Frost & Sullivan, said: “2016-2018 will see large-scale disruptions in the media industry, breaking traditional boundaries of businesses as well as pricing. Competition will intensify as international companies jostle side by side with regional players for airtime and consumer mind space.”

 

The consumer market is ripe for increase in distribution of HD TV channels as well as multi-screen videos. However, falling oil prices, political strife, and inconsistent growth in advertising revenues are challenging the broadcast industry, said a statement.

 

While technologies have matured for adoption to drive new-age content distribution, broadcasters and Pay TV operators are still struggling on structuring viable business models to realise faster ROIs, it said.

 

“‘Converge to Diverge’ will be the new mantra. Companies will explore multiple avenues to pursue revenue growth,” said Nath.

 

As the knowledge partner for Cabsat, Frost & Sullivan will present a report on “State of the Industry: Market & Technology Trends in Broadcast, MENA,” a copy of which will be available for all Content Congress and Cabsat conference delegates. 

 

This in-depth industry insight will share key findings of the industry trends in media content market place, changing business models, viewership habits, technology trends, drivers and challenges, factors driving technology investment, and a technology investment index of countries in the region.

 

Frost & Sullivan found that nearly 60 per cent of TV households in the Mena have HDTVs and more than half have HD satellite TV receivers. 

 

In Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) alone, 85 per cent of TV households have HDTVs and HD receivers. However, less than a fourth of channels available in the region are transmitted in HD.

 

“High-definition is becoming a way of life across the Mena. The difference between luxury and premium is fast blurring in the way consumers perceive and purchase products. The growing HD footprint in the region is a positive sign for broadcasters to take their transmission to the next level. In order to maintain their competitive edge, they will need to respond to expectations of high-quality user experience and push out more and more HD content,” said Nath.

 

In parallel, there is a significant increase in multilingual content sourcing. A melting pot of diverse expat population, the region offers opportunities to international as well as local content producers to offer popular content. However, the market is highly fragmented and requires a deep rooted understanding of the local ecosystem of content and technology partners.

 

Trends such as these will define technology investments for the broadcast industry looking for advanced solutions in collaborative workflows, advanced video compression, and security, said the statement.

 

The report will provide insights on what technology trends will drive the market and also present the technology adoption index across countries for the Mena, it added. - TradeArabia News Service