Niches are the new riches - Part II
The Streaming Lab - MENA #005
Hey 👋 - Yann here.
This is the 5th issue of The Streaming Lab - MENA.
Each Saturday, I analyze 1 topic to better understand the OTT market in Middle East & North Africa.
Enjoy the show.
This week, I’ll focus on Niche OTT services coming from Middle East & North Africa:
The Middle East ultra-specialized OTT market
Why are Kids at the top of the niches?
Niche services & super-aggregators: a winning recipe?
The Middle East ultra-specialized OTT market
Most of the streaming services available in Middle East & North Africa target specific audiences with 3 main parameters: Content origin, Audience and Genre.
Here is the list of niche services that launched in the region in the past 10 years:
2011 - Istikana (Content origin - Arabic)
2012 - Telly (Content origin - Arabic)
2012 - Cinemoz (Content origin - Arabic)
2016 - Shofha (Content origin - Arabic)
2016 - Awaan (Content origin - Arabic)
2017 - Rotana (Content origin - Arabic)
2017 - Hadif TV (Content origin - Arabic)
2017 - Wide Khaliji (Content origin - Gulf)
2019 - UFC Arabia (Genre - Fighting Sports)
2019 - Spacetoon Go (Audience - Kids)
2020 - Menassati (Content origin - Arabic)
2020 - FilMe (Content origin - Bollywood)
2021 - Roya Kids (Audience - Kids)
2021 - Majid Universe (Audience - Kids)
2021 - Shasha Movies (Content origin - North Africa & Levant)
2021 - Aloula (Content origin - Arabic)
2022 - PG Kids (Audience - Kids)
Let’s have a closer look at some of them:
2011 - Istikana
The first niche streamer appeared in Middle East in 2011 with Istikana, a Jordanian SVOD platform that brings premium Arabic independent cinema to the world. The service showcases never seen before independent films, documentaries, short films and hard to find classics.
2016 - Awaan
Dubai Media Incorporated - The Dubai state broadcaster - launched its digital entertainment platform Awaan in 2016. The content available is a mix of Linear and On Demand, from drama, movies, cooking, cultural, Islamic and general entertainment.
2017 - Wide Khaliji
Wide Khaliji is an SVOD service focusing mainly on GCC and MENA region. They have been acquiring a selective catalog of GCC and Arabic TV Series productions for their niche subscribers. Last year marked their first original Saudi TV Series and they will be producing 10 Original GCC productions every year.
2020 - Menassati
Menassati is the only Arabic full digital entertainment platform, that provides 4 in 1 multimedia services, allowing the Arab audience to watch, listen, read, and play at the lowest subscription plan of $5.99 per month. Their mission is to accelerate the digitalization of the Arabic content, enrich the Arabic multimedia library with original production that best represents its culture and society, and provide the underdeveloped markets with payments solutions and easy accessibility.
2021 - FilmMe
FilMe is a TVOD product available in UAE which lets users watch movies with no subscription and no App download. FilMe is a market disruptor in the entertainment industry, with a technology that enables viewers to watch content with a QR code and comes in the form of a physical retail format and online version.
Why are Kids at the top of the niches?
In Middle East, there are 4 niche streaming services targeting Kids only:
2019 - Spacetoon Go
2021 - Roya Kids
2021 - Majid Universe
2022 - PG Kids
And they share the same objectives:
Bring localized international properties to Middle East
Promote kids studios from the region
Provide a safe environment that can transmit family values
But what is exactly the meaning of a « safe environment» for kids in Middle East?
Reflect the values of the society in which they live.
The reality is more complex, as recently experienced by Disney: Pixar’s Lightyear has been banned in cinema last week in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Malaysia over a same-sex kiss. It shows a misalignment of what parents expect from cartoons & animation for their kids.
Is this the reason why we see more niche streaming services targeting kids only?
Durioo+ launched recently in Malaysia, focusing not only on kids content, but on Kids content with an islamic essence. Here are the main reasons why they decided to create a safe streaming service for muslim kids:
“Kids watch too much nonsense on the internet
Kids watch things related to Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving or Valentine's Day
Cartoons are too influenced by Western culture
There are not many high-quality Islamic cartoons/shows that can capture kids' attention”
I’m sure we’ll see more ultra-specialized kids streaming services in the region in the coming months, offering a “safer alternative” to Western global giants.
Niche services & super-aggregators: a winning recipe?
As described earlier in my article, most of the homegrown OTT services in Middle East target a niche audience with a specific Content origin, Audience and Genre.
The complexity of ultra-specialized services comes from their business model. As any SVOD service, what they need is volume: a large number of subscribers and a steady growth. However, their target audience is limited and reaching a high volume as a Direct-To-Consumer service can be challenging.
This is why Distribution strategies are more important than ever.
Distribution Partnerships with Telecom
Switch TV, the OTT service of Etisalat UAE aggregates other streaming services with many packages: TFC on demand, StarzPlay, Rotana VOD, Eros Now, etc.
Distribution partnerships with retailers
FilMe and Lulu - one of the largest retail group in West Asia - have entered into an exclusive partnership to distribute movies. Lulu' s new entertainment vertical is now providing the sale of FilMe cards on their online Webstore as well along with their hundreds of retail supermarkets across the GCC.
Super-aggregation strategy with generalist entertainment services
StarzPlay aggregates many properties, as part of its main SVOD package or as Add-on subscriptions: Discovery+, AD sports, Gulf TV, Majid TV, blutv, UFC Arabia, Powerplay and Rugby.
In the US, a pure VOD player is trying to solve a major challenge for niche streaming services: give users access to 50+ ultra-specialized streaming services with one subscription and no ads. STRUUM subscribers can seamlessly search and discover all types of genres and content, using credits to watch TV shows, blockbusters, documentaries, true-crime, indie and classic films, cooking series, etc.
I hope we’ll see similar initiatives in Middle East soon!
That’s all for today, 1 tip to better know the niche streamers in Middle East.
See you online next week. Until then, enjoy THE BOYS season 3 on Amazon Prime Video.
- Yann
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