OTT services & Instagram in MENA
OTT services & Instagram in MENA
The Streaming Lab MENA #17
Hey 👋 - Yann here.
This is the 17th issue of The Streaming Lab - MENA.
Each Saturday, I analyse 1 topic to better understand the OTT market in the Middle East & North Africa.
This week, I’ll show you how MENA-based streaming services promote their content on Instagram.
Enjoy the show!
I’ll start with a ranking of Instagram accounts from local and international streaming services in the region.
Then I’ll focus on 5 homegrown services and analyze their Top performing posts last month.
Finally, I’ll share a quick overview on how global streaming giants localize their Instagram accounts.
Instagram accounts from local & international OTT services
3 streaming services are leading the social media war with Instagram accounts above 1m followers: shahid.vod (3m), netflixmena (2.4m) and watchit (1m).
7 players have more than 100k followers: osn (460k), viumena (345k), smashitv (297k), z5weyyak (295k), noorplay_ar (283k), starzplayarabia (186k) and Spacetoongo (127k).
The remaining platforms are a mix of entertainment, sports, niche content or even global giants that launched local accounts recently: jawwy: (98k), onawaan (79k), disneyplusmena: (52,4k), ufcarabia (53,1k), adtvmena: (50,2k), tod.tv (30k), widekhaliji (6,648), primevideomena (4,735) and switchtvapp (1,103).
Top performing posts from MENA-based OTT services
shahid.vod (Shahid)
Shahid social media team is very active with an average of 9 posts per day. They publish on Instagram different types of content: teaser, trailers, clips, product launch, content reminders, TV premiere events and discounted packages.
August 2022 recap
275 posts = 9 posts per day
505,251 likes = 1,837 likes per post
August TOP post
A promotional video of the TV Series Al Layla Wa Elli Feeha / What Happened That Night (54,699 likes / 1298 comments).
watchit (WATCH IT)
Most of the content published on WATCH IT Instagram account are short video clips promoting movies, TV Series, Talk shows and concerts. The social team is also dynamic with an average of 5 posts per day.
August 2022 recap
159 posts = 5 posts per day
165,413 likes = 1,040 likes per post
August TOP post
A short clip of the famous Egyptian talk show Ma'akum Mona El-Shazly, which hosts celebrities and inspiring stories daily (23,341 likes / 182 comments).
(OSN+)
OSN+ promotes on Instagram trailers, video clips, countdown, new season announcement, upcoming releases or quotes from movies. They publish regularly “Fun facts”, “Throwback Thursday”, “Family Friday Movie Nights” and “Saturday Binge”.
OSN+ also showcases promotional activities, and with the launch of House Of The Dragon, they is more than enough content to play with.
August 2022 recap
52 posts = 2 posts per day
66,831 likes = 1,285 likes per post
August TOP post
A visual announcing the start date of House Of The Dragon (14,167 likes / 168 comments).
Smashitv (Smashi)
Smashi is a niche streaming service focused on business & tech content, and more recently on local sports. You’ll find on Instagram inspirational quotes, motivational speeches, interviews, talk shows, sports highlights, memes, live arts, etc.
August 2022 recap
38 posts / 1 post per day
10,682 likes / 281 likes per post
August TOP post
An inspirational video clip (17,997 views / 766 likes / 6 comments).
z5weyyak (Weyyak)
Weyyak publishes on Instagram video clips, interviews of actors, App promotion, funny videos and contests/quizz.
August 2022 recap
92 posts = 3 post per day
14,550 likes = 158 likes per post
August TOP post
A carousel asking users which character they are? (776 likes / 110 comments).
How global giants localize Instagram
Most of the Global streaming giants available in MENA created specific Instagram accounts for the region. The objective? Build local communities.
netflixmena (Netflix)
Netflix Mena was the first streaming giant to enter the region and started a regional Instagram account in December 2015.
disneyplusmena (Disney+)
Disney+ launched Disneymena Instagram account in March this year, 3 months before the launch in MENA.
primevideomena (Amazon Prime Video)
The first post of primevideomena Instagram account was on August 8th this year. It confirms Amazon started localizing Prime Video in Middle East & North Africa.
appletvplus (Apple TV+)
Apple TV+ is the only giant with no local Instagram account. And looking at Apple’s strategy from other regions, we should not see appletvplusmena before long.
That’s all for today, how MENA-based streaming services are using Instagram.
See you online next week. Until then, don’t forget to register to Dubai Motorcycle Film Festival 2022 and get a chance to meet Claudio Von Planta from Long Way Round - Available on Apple TV+ (I’ll be there).
- Yann
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you with:
If you want to learn more about OTT in MENA, I’d recommend starting with my market report:
→ The local OTT ecosystem in MENA: Learn everything about the local streaming services in the region. Get full access here.
License premium FAST & On Demand content on TVToday.
Hire top streaming experts for short-term assignments on OTTpro.