Demand For Quality Local Content To Drive The Future Of Mediain Saudi Arabia

1 in 3 Saudi residents prefer to watch local Arabic TV content over international content. This is according to a survey commissioned by Kearney as part of a series exploring the trends in key sectors that support Saudi Arabia’s economic development and national ambitions.

The survey unveils a demand for more quality content with21% of respondents claiming that they would like to see more localized, Arabic content on television and other media platforms. To meet this need, 63% of respondents in the country are willing to pay a premium with 25% willing to pay a fee to avoid advertisements on media platforms.

The study noted a higher willingness to pay for high quality video on demand (42%) than other content mediums, including social media (37%), television (32%), gaming websites (32%), online news portals (22%), print news publications (19%), podcasts (19%) and radio (17%).

Respondents aged between18 and 34 are more likely to pay for quality content than 35+ year olds, particularly on newer channels of consumption such as video on demand (96%) compared to more traditional channels such as newspapers and magazines (37%).

“Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s youngest and most digitally attuned major markets with the population consuming vast terabytes of video, audio, and gaming content.The youth has not only been using various platforms for visual self expression and story telling, but also to bolster the cultural identity of the nation, which has been incredibly empowering,”commented Adel Belcaid, Head of Communications, Media, and Technology at Kearney Middle East.

“Under these favourable demographics and the directives of Vision 2030, the Kingdom stands to become one of largest content hubs. There is a huge opportunity to unleash the full potential of the media sector,by boosting local content development, upgrading talent and infrastructure and enhancing regulation and governance framework,” Belcaid added.

Kearney will be releasing a report on the rapidly evolving KSA media landscape entitled “Shaping the future of the media sector in Saudi Arabia” on their website.