Whilst most global economic sectors took a heavy blow in 2020 resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, a handful of industries were fortunate to witness growth surpassing forecasts and expectations. One such industry was the global OTT industry that has grown 21%, growing from $85B in 2019 to $103B in 2020. OTT (over-the-top) applications are services delivered over the existing Internet infrastructure. The tremendous growth of this industry has predominantly resulted from stay-at-home orders instituted by Governments around the world which drove the masses away from travel and outdoor leisure towards readily accessible entertainment options enjoyable from the safety and comfort of their home.
In MENA, one of the world’s centers of digital growth, the VOD (Video-on-Demand) market is projected to grow three-fold to over 11 million OTT subscriptions and a turnover of $1.2B by 2025. Saudi Arabia’s video OTT market in particular is projected to add $0.5B revenues by 2025, owing to advanced connectivity infrastructures and Vision 2030 which places digital transformation at the heart of its progress and economic diversification strategy.
Intigral, the leading Saudi homegrown video OTT provider and subsidiary of stc, seized the year with its flagship offering, Jawwy TV, and pursued an ambitious strategy underscored with pioneering initiatives, valuable offerings, and expansion endeavors that increased the prominence of the platform even further. Jawwy TV more than doubled its user base in 2020, hitting a million downloads between January and December. It accomplished a 65% increase in new subscribers, and saw an 88% surge in viewership levels compared to the previous year.
Jawwy TV, which boasts a plethora of viewing opportunities, offering 190+ live free to air and encrypted TV channels, an on-demand catalogue comprising over 25,000 movies and series, and an unmatched lineup of partnerships with numerous acclaimed networks, goes beyond curation and streaming to being a producer of outstanding original content. Among its most recent productions, Jawwy TV released “Bel Sa’a” in February, an original comedy-thriller series. For Ramadan, it contracted with top regional production companies to produce “Yamam”, “Hawas”, “Itijah Khate'e”, and “Bent w Walad”. In summer, it launched its original Saudi comedy series ”FBI”, while in September, it unveiled the original series “Darine”, and in October, introduced its first lifestyle and cooking reality show “Shofna Chef”.
Jawwy TV was also the exclusive streaming platform to offer the Saudi Ministry of Education’s iEN educational channels to viewers since March, widening its scope from entertainment to education, and underscoring its commitment towards supporting social welfare and community development by empowering digital learning and giving students easy and rapid access to classes during the pandemic.
In a similar context, Intigral launched its initiative “Ebda’ak Ala Jawwy'' in collaboration with SAIP and stc to raise awareness on the significance of intellectual property rights and empower young Saudi filmmakers and media creators to innovate new ideas for original productions that will be adapted and produced by Jawwy TV.
Jawwy TV also released an array of special offers including the Saudi National Day offer, which enabled new Jawwy TV App users to enjoy a free first month of membership at a 90% discounted price, while Jawwy TV Home users could view movie titles for 90 halalas only. Intigral also launched a social media contest to reward five winners who watched “Welad Rizk 2” movie and the “Vikings” series via the platform. Through such campaigns, Intigral sought to express appreciation to its subscriber base and ultimately consolidate a closer relationship with them.
Moreover, in April this year, Intigral signed a hallmark multi-year deal with OSN, securing first access to its new general entertainment channel “OSN Mix'' to offer viewers a unique window into OSN’s programs. Intigral also partnered with OSN in presenting Jawwy TV subscribers with valuable add-on packages and bundles to access OSN’s encrypted channels for a full month at no additional cost.
On the regional growth front, Jawwy TV recently penetrated one of MENA’s largest markets - Egypt - through a series of strategic agreements with TPAY, a leading digital payments platform in MENA, and the country’s four telecom providers WE, Orange, Vodafone, and Etisalat. With the platform now available to Egyptian audiences to enjoy, Jawwy TV has potential to reach over 54 million internet users in Egypt. In 2021, Intigral has a number of similar agreements planned to continue such growth in other MENA markets and instill its position as a leading provider of digital entertainment in the region.
Whilst 2020 was a strong year for Jawwy TV, considerable challenges remain, as explosive demand puts pressure on content aggregators to up their game and diversify their offerings to outperform the ever-growing competition and keep viewers engaged and interested. Intigral will continue to invest in providing its customers access to the latest and widest array of Arabic and Western content, whilst continuing to enhance its overall user experience, thereby positioning itself as the leading entertainment provider of choice within the MENA region in 2021 and beyond.
