Netflix is predicted to lose its SVOD market leadership in Arabic countries in the next five years, according to a report by Digital TV Research.

The research firm’s ‘Middle East and North Africa OTT TV and Video Forecasts’ report predicts that there will be 26 million SVOD subscriptions across 13 Arabic countries by 2029, up from 14 million in 2023.

5. Arabic market

Netflix is predicted to lose its SVOD subscribers

Digital TV Research said that Netflix will lose its market leadership to Arabic streamer Shahid VIP, which is operated by Saudi Arabia-based MBC Group.

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Netflix had 3.8 million subscribers by end-2023, followed by Shahid VIP with 3.5 million and StarzPlay with 3.0 million.

Digital TV Research predicts that Shahid VIP will have 5.8 million subscribers by 2029 compared to Netflix’s 5.6 million. 

Other key players in the region include Amazon and Disney+, which are both predicted to have 3.2 million subscribers.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “As some of the US-based platforms lower their global rollout and local content commitments, the Arabic players will thrive.”

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