Digital consumption sees significant growth in Middle East, North Africa: report

DUBAI, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Digital consumption in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is growing rapidly, according to a report by the global consulting company Ernest and Young.

The growth was driven by "a large population and fast-improving mobile connectivity," United Arab Emirates' (UAE) state news agency WAM quoted the report as saying.

The development is also fueled by a flood of new streaming platforms in the market, with the digital share of the video revenue pie expected to rise from 9.6 percent in 2017 to 17.3 percent by 2021, said the report.

"Digital video revenues and viewership are set to grow by at least 22 percent annually till 2021 in the MENA region," Nripendra Singh, a regional director of media and entertainment of the consulting company was quoted as saying.

In response to the new trend, "content providers will need to focus on multi-language products, partnerships across the video value chain, analytics and customer centricity," he added.

Further, teenagers and young adults, who are major users of digital content in the region, "are entering the workforce and becoming paying consumers adding a significant boost to media expense," added the report.

Content providers have to focus on relevant genres for young audience, including sports, premium action or coming-of-age films, said the report. Enditem