Representatives from Es’hailSat, Thuraya, Yahsat and Arabsat explored a number of topics regarding the development of satellite communications in the MENA region – one of the most dynamic in the world in terms of growth in demand across video distribution, enterprise and consumer sectors.
For the evolution of TV and video distribution, Saif expected the FTA sector to continue to see a healthy growth and expansion in the MENA region, with the latest research predicting a 7% growth in 2016.
This growth is in part fuelled by premium local Arabic content at hotspot locations.
Es’hail-1 at the leading hotspot for TV content (25.5/26E) has seen an increasing number of FTA channels launching in the MENA region – Qatari cultural channel Al Rayyan 2 and Al Araby both recently launched HD channels.
Going forward, both the region’s main players and new digital channels are expected to develop new niche content to build on their offerings.
