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Content is not Always King!
On a horizontal positioning scale starting with international drama content on one side vs more niche content on the other edge, we notice that many existing regional OTT SVOD content proposition are still skewed towards the first edge. SVOD players should seize the opportunity of creating a competitive advantage around content genre differentiation relevant to the preference of the local targeted market – to name a few, Arabic drama, Family content, anime, Reality and Non-scripted content are competitive fields regional OTTs should better tab into. In this context, we have seen a momentum from Starzplay by leading the way in differentiating and securing its position with the highest number of deals in the region, tailoring products like reality TV (through Discovery+), also positioning itself well as “home of anime” and bringing relevant regional sports (like UFC and Asian Football World cup 2022 qualifying matches), while Shahid VIP has fully occupied the territory in the Arabic drama content.
Niche genre positioning Opportunity to stand out from the crowd: Starzplay bringing “Demon Slayer”, the series based on the popular manga and top japan grossing film in 2020
Content genre differentiation Streaming localized sport is an example of competitve relevance: Starzplay inked the deal with Abu Dhabi Media to stream exclusively Asian Football Confederation matches
In this later market scenario where positioning territories are well defined around sizable content genre key to the segment preference, we will more likely expect to see a valuable and healthy market growth away from price war that protects the bottom-line value. However, even in the above positioning attempts from regional players, we are yet to see in a MENA growing streaming service positioned as a niche or thematic players, a strategy that contributes better to SVOD’s content monetization.
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OTT Video Success Path in MENA: How can SVOD be more relevant and create long-term value
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