Is TOD a game-changing streaming service in MENA?

The Streaming Lab - MENA #12

Yann Colleter

Aug 13, 2022

Hey 👋 - Yann here.

This is the 12th issue of The Streaming Lab - MENA.

Each Saturday, I analyse 1 topic to better understand the OTT market in the Middle East & North Africa.

Enjoy the show.

This week, I’m reviewing the content available on TOD, the new SVOD service from beIN Media Group.

You’ll find below 8 video clips coming from the main content categories:

Football
Sports
FIFA World Cup Qatar
Series
Movies
Kids
Shows
Live

Football

Here is the list of the Football leagues and competitions available on TOD:

Leagues: Premier League, Ligue1, LaLiga, SuperLig, QNB Stars League, EFL Championship, Ligue2, etc.
Competitions: FIFA World Cup, Champions League, Women’s Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, Women’s Euro, FA Cup, Coupe de France, FFF, CAF Africa Cup of Nations, CAF Champions League, Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, AFC Asian Qualifiers, AFC Cup, AFC Champions League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, etc.

The carousels of the Football section promote a good mix of Live, Catchup and programmes:

A master carousel highlighting the next games with a countdown
What’s Live on TOD
The Stars Align (Documentaries)
Content corners with the main competitions
Carousels dedicated to a specific league or competition
Programmes (Documentaries, Interviews, highlights, etc.)

In my opinion, one of the main added value of TOD in the region comes from the features specifically designed for Football content. You can find below 4 screenshots from the main features. (The game is playing on the right side and the screenshot blocking feature worked perfectly ;)

Lineup, Team Stats and Top players (Web)

Commentary with highlights (Web)

Alternate timeline (Web)

Highlights mode (Mobile)

Sports

TOD is not only about Football, the streaming service also offers a lot of international sports:

Tennis: Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Australian Open, City Open, National Bank Open, Atlanta Open, Croatia Open, Hamburg Open, Nordean Open, etc.
Padel: Premier Padel
Rugby: World Rugby Sevens Series
Cycling: Le Tour de France, Tour de France Femmes, Critérium du Dauphiné, Liege Bastogne, La Flèche Wallone, Paris Roubaix, Paris Nice, etc.
Motor Sports: MotoGP, SBK Motul, W Series
Basketball: NBA Summer League, FIBA Asia Cup, FIBA U17 World Cup
Handball: StarLigue
Equestrian: Polo Rider Cup, HH The Amir Sword Race and CHI Al Shaqab 2022
Baseball: MLB
Cricket: IPL, The Hundred, Vitaly IT20, Vitaly Blast, etc.
Water Sports: 19th FINA World Championships 2022
Athletics: U20 Championships World Athletics 2022, World Athletics Championships 2022, etc.

I don’t see here the nice-to-have features that are available on the Football section: Commentary, Highlights or Alternate timeline. It would be another way for TOD to differentiate from the competition.

FIFA World Cup Qatar

TOD created a specific section to gather all the content related to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this year. Subscribers will have a lot to watch before enjoying the live games starting on Sunday, November 20.

The qualifications from Europe, Asia & Latam
International friendlies
My World Cup: Interviews and documentaries from World Cup winners.
FIFA World Cup magazine: news about the World Cup
Special Programmes: Postcards from Qatar, FIFA World Cup Stories, In Conversation, All the goals from FIFA 2014, etc.

Series

TOD offers a strong mix of international and regional TV Series. Here are some examples of the titles available:

Turkish Series

Originals: Yawmeyet Saad Wa Emran, Hakika Wa Khayal, Endama Yaachako Arajol, Rehlaty Ela Al Shohra, Sharikat Al Eeela, etc.
Exclusive: Abi, Luebat Qadri, Qutaa Al Turuq, The Great Seljuks, Gülperi, Al Ghorfa Al Hamraa, Manzili, La Tatrok Yadi, Al Hufra, etc.
Other Turkish Series: Alhofra

Egyptian Series

Originals: Mazad Al Shar, Be Athar Rajee, Alqatel Alathi Ahabani
Exclusive: Asrar - Khams Daqaeq, Sharee 9, Al Jar Lel Jar
Other Egyptian series: Bayt El Shedda, El Tawoos, Harir Mokhmali, Etiham, Jame Salem, Shahid Ayan, Sultanat El Moez, Ella Ana, Sakan Banat, El Beit El Kebit, Bint ElSultan

Gulf Series

Originals: Min Al Haramlik, Al Rahaen, Ethnayn, Nesaa Kolna Laa
Exclusive: Asrar - Alboed Anha Ghanema, Arar - Khayl El Khasbhab, Hali W Nasi
Other Gulf Series: Mohamed Ali Rod, Sawwaha Al Bakht, Yjib Allah Al Matar, Amr Ekhlaa, Yama Kan O Kan, El Afoor, Alhub Alkber, etc.

Levant Series

Originals: Wlad El Balad
Exclusive: Binayet Hab El Reh, Asrar - Sodfa
Other Levant Series: Kalam Homra, Dakikat Samt, Awlad Adam, Loghz Al Akwiya, Tibk El Asl, Barzakh, Zawj Taht El Ikama El Jabriya, Wled Sultan, Ma Bayna Wa Hob, Ghorba, Portrait
TOD also offers a good selection of international content, coming from different genres:

Western Series

Police Procedural drama: FBI, FBI Most Wanted, NCIS New Orleans, NCIS Los Angeles, S.W.A.T, Blue Bloods, Bull, Prodigal Son, Magpie Murders, etc.
Action: Justified, DMZ, Black Lightning, Seal Team, Stargirl, Kung Fu, Mac Gyver, etc.
Horror: Fantasy Island, Chapelwaite, Monsterland, Pandora, For Life, Evil, Roswell New Mexico, etc.
Comedy: The Moodys, Head of The class, Call me Kat, Pivoting, Out of her mind, etc.
And some « classics »: Gossip Girl, The Good Doctor, The Shield, etc.

Movies

TOD acquired a strong selection of movies, including a good variety of genres: War, Comedy, Animation, Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime, Sci-Fi, Romance, Horror and Mystery

I’ll just share here the premium movies coming from the Nominated & Award Winning Movies carousel: Blade Runner 2049, Coach Carter, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Interstellar, Inception, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Argo, Letters From Iwo Jima, Dunkirk, etc.

Movies coming from the region only have 2 dedicated carousels:

Arabic Movies: Wahid Saheh, Alfarah, Badl Faqed, Alrays Omar Harb, Boshkash, Tabakh El Rayes, etc.
Turkish Movies: Kagit A Tale on Paper, Dar Elbise The Tight Dress, Kaygi Fear, Asik A Blind Tale, Yusuf Yusuf, Sag Salim, Romantik, etc.

Kids

Kids content on TOD includes non-dialogue and Arabic titles for Pre-school and Teens age groups, but also Family movies, songs, storytelling and educational content.

Here are some examples from 2 age groups, Pre-school and Teens:

Pre-School: Franklin and Friends, Fafa, Brewster The Rooster, Molang, Truck games, Little Stones, Maya The Bee, Funny Planet, Hourouf Wa Rousoum, Baraem Songs, Alrawi, etc.
Teens: Matt Hatters Chronicles, Robin Hood, Odd Squad, 5 & IT the Psammy, The Journey, Kids Planet, Princess Sissi, etc.

Even if TOD subscribers can create Kids or restricted profiles, I would also have expected a more colourful User Interface, dedicated to this age group.

Shows

TOD provides a unique section for non-fiction TV Shows, including several genres: Travel, Cooking, Talent shows, Talk shows, Documentaries and Arabic plays.

Some examples:

Talent & Talk Shows: American Idols, America’s Got Talent, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Dr. Oz Show, Tawaan Rouhi
Cooking: Almatbakh Addemashqui, Aldar Alkabira, Here You Are, A Day With Semsa, Destination Aegean, etc.
Travel: Van Life Diary, Trekking Routes On Europe, Young Explorer, Stay in Nature, Caravan Journey, Travelling the World, Distant Lands, A Journey with Different Cultures

Live

The Live section is basically the EPG of all the Linear content available on TOD.

Here are the channels available: beIN Drama1, beIN Series 1, beIN Series 2, beIN Movies 1, beIN Movies 2, beIN Movies 3, beIN Movies 4, beIN Gourmet, Jeem , Baraem, beJunior, beIN Sports 1 Premium, beIN Sports 2 Premium, beIN 3 Premium, beIN Sports 1, beIN Sports 2, beIN Sports 3, beIN Sports 4, beIN Sports 5, beIN Sports 6, beIN Sports 7, beIN Sports Xtra 1, beIN Sports Xtra 2, beIN Sports News, beIN Sports, beIN Sports 1 EN, beIN Sports 2 EN, beIN Sports 3 EN, beIN Sports 1 FR, beIN Sports 2 FR, beIN Sports 3 FR, beIN Sports AFC, beIN Sports 1 AFC, beIN Sports 2 AFC, beIN Sports 3 AFC, Dreamworks HD, Cbeebies HD, FOX HD, FOX Movies HD, Baby TV HD, Cartoon Network HD, Fatafeet HD, CNN HD, NAT Geo HD, Boomerang HD, Fox Rewayat HD

I’ll finish this review with the platform specs:

The User Interface is available in English & Arabic (Mirroring mode)

Subscribers can use up to 5 Devices linked to an account (and remove or register only 1 device per month)
There is only 1 concurrent stream allowed for Sports package subscribers
There are 2 concurrent streams allowed for Entertainment and All-In package subscribers
The devices & browsers supported are Chrome, Firefox, Edge & Safari, Android & iOS

In conclusion, TOD is a very good addition to the OTT ecosystem in the Middle East & North Africa. With no doubt, the subscriptions will skyrocket in the next 3 months, before and during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Why do I think TOD is a game-changing streaming service in MENA?

A powerful Sports content offering with major international leagues & competitions
A game-changing interactivity with unique features for Football content
A strong regional content offering with Originals & exclusive TV Series
A dedicated category for local & international non-fiction shows

What could be improved?

~~A Connected TV App~~ *Update: TOD launched on Apple TV, Android/Google TV, Samsung TV, LG TV, Sony TV and VIDAA smart TVs. And more devices should come soon.
A Kids-specific User Interface
A stronger international content offering (Korea, Spain, Latam, etc.)
Additional features: Download mode, specific features for sports other than Football

However, TOD entered a fast growing OTT market in MENA several years after the top players. And some of them recently built a strong OTT sports offering:

Shahid Sports offers today an impressive number of local leagues and tournaments, and started investing in international Sports rights
StarzPlay will soon launch a new Sports package, driven by the Italian Serie A, Asian Cup Cricket, Asian Football Confederation, UFC and more * Update: StarzPlay Sport is now live. Full review HERE.

I expect a faster fragmentation of the OTT sports offering in the coming months, with local leagues & competitions licensing their content to niche players and/or going D2C with their own platforms.

What do you expect?