280 satellite pay TV channels in the Arab World

Sunday, November 8th, 2015
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The Arab World’s Satellite pay TV operators provided a total of 280 Pay TV channels by September 2015

New research and analysis by the Arab Advisors Group reveals that as of October 2015 the four satellite Pay TV operators, broadcasting from the region, offered a combined total of 280 channels. OSN is the leader in terms of the number of offered channels.

Four satellite Pay TV providers broadcast from the Arab World. Namely: Orbit Showtime Network (OSN), beIN Sports, Al Majd and MyHD. Expectedly, beIN Sports offers the highest number of sports Pay TV channels with 21 sports channels.

A new report, “Satellite Pay TV Operators in the Arab World 2015” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Media Strategic Research Service subscribers on October 19, 2015. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 1,950. The 91-page report, which has 32 detailed exhibits, provides a detailed analysis of the landscape of satellite Pay TV and profiles the four operators including OSN, beIN Sports, Al Majd and MyHD. The report also compares the channels, packages, prices, dealers and interactive services of the four satellite Pay TV operators, in addition to full listing of channels, packages, prices and dealers.

Three of the four Pay TV providers also offer HD channels: OSN, beIN Sports and MyHD. OSN and MyHD offered 55 and 53 HD channels, respectively, while beIN Sports provided 20 HD channels.

“By September 2015, the four Pay TV providers offered 280 channels. OSN had the highest number with 162 channels (including the 3 pay-per-view channels and two On Demand channels), MyHD came in second with 84 channels. beIN Sports offered 21 channels, while Al Majd TV provided 13 channels,” Ms. Hiba Al Atiyat, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst, wrote in the report.

“The total air time per month for the four pay TV providers reached 201,600 hours. OSN and MyHD had a 57.9% and 30% share of the total air time, respectively, while beIN Sports’ market share of the total air time reached 7.5%. As for Al Majd, it stood at 4.6% by end of September 2015,” Ms. Al-Atiyat stated.