“beIN is
reducing its
expenditure on
top events –
thus making it
less attractive
to potential
subscribers.” -
Simon Murray,
Digital TV
Research
attractive demand for the satellite sector
in terms of extra capacity. But it hasn’t
happened. Arabsat admits that 4K/UHD is
a difficult proposition for FTA. “Knowing
the addressable viewer base for 4K is very
limited, however, to ensure viewers have a
taste of the 4K experience Arabsat is working
with multiple partners to deliver just that. At
present pay-TV services are better positioned
to drive its growth, especially OTT players in is going to be
established as
the European
hotspot of the
Arabic region
with reach
and cost-
competitiveness
to existing
providers,”
asserts
Balkheyour.
“Arabsat’s
internal
activities
are all moving into that direction. A hybrid
satellite/IPTV/OTT platform partnership is
also underway with strategic discussions for
the future. Arabsat has been focused on the
refurbishment of the Hellas-sat fleet over the
past four years,” he notes, suggesting that with
the launch of HS-3 in 2018 and HS-4 in 2019
and expanding the associated teleport services
and ground platforms to support the expansion
of the group, Hellas-sat will be best situated
the Gulf Cooperation Council region where
Internet speeds and penetration rates are
supportive. As we stand in 2020, mainstream
4K/UHD is still far off,” says Balkheyour.
GROWTH. As to future growth for Arabsat,
and the MENA region generally, Balkheyour
is blunt. “Growth in the broadcasting market
in the MENA region and traditional telecom
infrastructure market in MEA is stagnant
if not negative year over year. Arabsat has
adopted a conservative approach toward High
Throughput Satellite (HTS) services. Arabsat
has managed to win major broadband projects
in different countries with need for broadband
over satellite for universal funds and coverage
of local digital divides. Those country-
level projects were accomplished through
high throughput payloads on Arabsat’s
newly launched satellites and will come to
commercial operations in Q1/2020. Arabsat’s
next step is to launch a full HTS satellite by
2023 with a roadmap for partnerships and
new products.”
“As for broadcast, Arabsat sees potential
for growth in expanding its geographical reach
via partnerships to provide a full portfolio
of broadcasting services and coverages for
MENA broadcasters. Arabsat has also started
to access new sub-Saharan markets with
competitive offerings. Arabsat sees potential
growth and value in hybrid satellite-OTT
platforms but we expect that by focusing on
more local rather than regional boundaries.
Government projects take a long time in
MENA but also have good potential for growth
over the coming few years,” adds Balkheyour.
Arabsat has one very attractive extra
service, and that’s in the shape of Hellas-sat
which it owns. “In the long run, Hellas-sat to harness major opportunities in both MENA
and Europe.
OTT/IP. Arabsat’s prediction that OTT and
IP-delivery will grow dramatically is backed
up by a recent study from Digital TV Research
(DTVR). The report says that MENA SVoD
revenues will reach $2.97 billion by 2025; or
$2.1 billion more than the 2019 total. SVoD
revenues will triple between 2019 and 2025.
Turkey will total to $908 million by 2025, with
Saudi Arabia adding $563 million.
“We forecast 29.63 million SVoD
subscriptions by 2025, up from 12.25 million
recorded at end-2019,” advises Simon Murray,
principal analyst at Digital TV Research.
“Collectively, the 13 Arabic-speaking countries
will overtake Turkey’s subscriber count in
2025.”
Netflix, according to the study, will account
for 38% of the 2025 total (with its subscriber
base doubling from 2019), followed by
StarzPlay (23%) and Disney+ (11% despite only
starting in its first Arabic country in 2022).
These three platforms will generate three-
quarters of the Arab total by 2025. It will be
interesting to see how well MBC’s new Shahid
OTT service will perform.
As to overall growth in the MENA region
for pay-TV, Digital TV Research is not helpful.
“Pay-TV revenues for the 20 countries in the
Middle East and North Africa region fell by 12
per cent between 2016 and 2019 to just under
$3 billion,” notes Murray.
Given the hangover from the beIN ban
and generally falling ARPUs, revenues in
2025 ($2.81 billion) will still be lower than in
2019, says DTVR. For the 13 Arabic-speaking
countries, DTVR reports that pay-TV revenues
fell by 15% from $1.241 billion in 2016 to
MENA Special EUROMEDIA 9