By April 2015, fourteen service providers in nine countries in the Arab World were offering IPTV services.
IPTV is in its initial stage of penetration in the Arab World, and is still developing. Fourteen service providers in nine countries in the MENA region offer IPTV services. These countries are: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Moreover, there is a number of international and local broadcasting networks which offer Subscription-based VOD services for viewers in the Middle East and North Africa. These providers include: Starz Play, icflix and Istikana.
“By April 2015, there were fourteen service providers in nine countries in the Arab World offering commercial IPTV services. Bahrain had the largest number of IPTV providers with 3 providers available in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia and the UAE followed with 2 service providers each,” according to Ms. Hiba Al Atiyat, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst in the report.
“As broadband Internet expands in the Arab world, IPTV adoption is increasing. The competition among IPTV service providers within the same country drives its offered features into frequent upgrades, which makes the user’s TV viewing experience more interactive.”