Video continues to gain ground, say experts

dubai — Whether on the metro, the bus, or in a taxi, residents across the UAE are increasingly turning to their smartphones to keep up with latest news around the world.

And the medium that is proving to be increasingly popular with viewers is video, experts at the Cabsat 2018 exhibition say. This has given rise to new and different genres, the introduction of new platforms for streaming, and a strong demand for service providers to deliver better and more reliable packages to their customers.

Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, director general of Dubai’s Department of Information, officially inaugerated the 24th edition of the event, which will run until January 16, 2018. The threeday event provides a platform for the broadcast, production, content delivery, digital media, and satellite sectors across the region, fostering disruptive innovation, creation, distribution, and monetisation opportunities in the regional market.

“Digital video revenues and viewership are set to grow to by at least 22 per cent annually till 2021 in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. To ride this new wave, content creators will need to focus on multi language offerings, partnerships across the video value chain, analytics and customer centricity,” said Nripendra Singh, director of media and entertainment, EY Africa, India and the Middle East. A recent report by EY found that digital consumption in the Mena region is growing at one of the fastest paces in the world, driven by a large population, fast-improving mobile connectivity, and a flood of new streaming platforms in the market.

“Digital share of the video revenue pie is projected to rise from 9.6 per cent in 2017 to 17.3 per cent by 2021,” said Ahmed Reda, MENA Telecommunications, media and technology leader at EY.

— rohma@khaleejtimes.com