New research and analysis by the Arab Advisors Group reveals that as of October 2014 the five satellite Pay TV operators, broadcasting from the region, offered a combined total of 237 channels. OSN is the leader in terms of the number of offered channels.
Five satellite Pay TV providers broadcast from the Arab World. Namely: Orbit Showtime Network (OSN), beIN Sports, Abu Dhabi Sports, Al Majd and MyHD. Expectedly, beIN Sports offers the highest number of sports Pay TV channels with 19 sports channels.
A new report, “Satellite Pay TV Operators in the Arab World 2014” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Media Strategic Research Service subscribers on October 22, 2014. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 1,950. The 93-page report, which has 35 detailed exhibits, provides a detailed analysis of the landscape of satellite Pay TV and profiles the five operators including OSN, beIN Sports, Abu Dhabi Sports, Al Majd and MyHD. The report also compares the channels, packages, prices, dealers and interactive services of the five satellite Pay TV operators, in addition to full listing of channels, packages, prices and dealers.
Four of the five Pay TV providers also offer HD channels: OSN, Abu Dhabi Sports, beIN Sports and MyHD. OSN and MyHD offered 47 and 46 HD channels, respectively, while beIN Sports and Abu Dhabi Sports provided 15 and 5 HD channels, respectively.
“By September 2014, the five Pay TV providers offered 237 channels. OSN had the highest number with 145 channels (including the 3 pay-per-view channels and On Demand channel), MyHD came in second with 60 channels. beIN Sports offered 19 channels. Al Majd TV provided 8 encoded channels, while Abu Dhabi Sports offered 5 channels.” Ms. Hiba Al Atiyat, Arab Advisors Research Analyst wrote in the report.
“Despite the promotions of Pay TV operators, most of the Arab World remains tuned to free-to-air satellite TV channels. Economically, many viewers seem to favor the free content of FTA channels rather than paying for TV content”. Ms. Al-Atiyat stated.