Pay-TV growing faster in Africa and the Middle East (AME) in comparison other major regions
by Ambarish Verma PresidentAccording
to new report: ‘Pay-TV Market Trends and
Opportunities in Africa & the Middle East’ the AME’s pay-TV market
is relatively underdeveloped but is growing rapidly and its pay-TV penetration
in 2017 fell substantially below the global average of 54.4%.
The
AME market consists of extreme heterogeneous pay-TV penetration levels. For
instance, the UAE and Egypt have polar oppositepay-TV household penetration
levels of around 88.4% and 2.5%, respectively.
However,
we are witnessing strong overall growth in the AME due to the expanding content
portfolios, tailored to local audiences. An effective blend of exclusive sport
broadcasting, regional and international content in various genres with
multiple languages such as Arabic, English and French, help pay-TV providers
gain subscribers and remain competitive in AME.
One
of the biggest challenges facing pay-TV operators in AME is piracy, as the
proliferation of illegal set-top boxes (STB) and decoders continue to
negatively impact pay-TV operator’s revenues. Anti-piracy initiatives are vital
to protect operator investments in premium broadcasting content and revenue
streams. To counter the impact of piracy, pay-TV players can partner with
government authorities to curtail the distribution of illegal content. Despite
this challenge, the pay-TV segment in the AME region is still in its infancy
and there is ample opportunity for growth.
Major Revelations:
-
To compete effectively in AME, an effective mixture of licensing strategy,
content development, protection, and distribution is required.
-
Broadcasters could reduce churn by offering compelling solutions of linear and
non-linear formats, aimed at providing an enriched user-experience.
-
Increasing competition is forcing many pay-tv operators to reduce their service
prices, thus driving down total pay-tv ARPS in the region.
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Created on Nov 10th 2018 08:41. Viewed 755 times.