Despite steady production values and the release of brand-new content, the overall Arabic content market remains underrated due to a lack of measurement and data. Heba Korayem explores the dynamics of the 2024 Ramadan drama industry, highlighting the key trends, opportunities and challenges.
The Ramadan season has always been a golden period for Arabic content, with drama series taking the spotlight. In 2024 the landscape of the Ramadan Arabic content drama industry continues to evolve, driven by specific investment and distribution trends.
Steady production values and focused investment
The production values of Ramadan dramas have remained steady compared to last year. However, we see investments increasingly directed toward specific genres. Historical and costume dramas, for instance, have seen a surge in investment, with 30% more releases – the highest compared to previous Ramadan seasons. With GCC countries also ramping up their spend on this genre, it suggests that governments may be encouraging the preservation and documentation of their countries’ histories by providing support for these productions.
Despite this genre not being the most highly consumed at home, it tops the charts as the most demanded genre beyond the MENA region, according to Parrot Analytics, followed closely by thrillers and crime dramas. This trend reaffirms the growing interest in content that offers a blend of rich cultural narratives and gripping storylines, perhaps an opportunity for local production houses to explore when creating content intended for export.
New releases and tradeable assets
This year has witnessed the release of numerous new titles, contributing to the vibrant landscape of the Arabic content market. A total of 188 tradeable video assets have been introduced, a 17% increase compared to last year. These assets are being distributed across 20 MENA countries, indicating a robust production and consumption environment. Countries actively producing Arabic series include heavyweights like Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the rising star, Iraq.
Not all planned releases, however, came to fruition. Around 30 were announced but either cancelled or postponed for various reasons. These included over-crowded production schedules, busy actors, failing to secure a broadcast partner on time or inadequate funding. These challenges highlight the difficulties in navigating the production landscape, even with steady investment.
Top drama-producing countries
Egypt remains the top supplier of drama series with 27% of the market, releasing trending titles this year such as historical drama El Hashashin, which premiered on Watch It in Egypt and Yango Play in the GCC.
The GCC countries combined follow closely with 20% of the releases. Some popular titles this year were Saudi comedy Jak Al Elem, which topped all charts, and Saudi drama series Khyot al Maazib, which streamed on Shahid.
Levant series, often inaccurately referred to as pan-Arab content, accounted for 19% of Ramadan releases, with notable titles from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, and one from Palestine.
Interestingly, titles from the Maghreb region, with 21% of overall Arabic releases during Ramadan, are also seen trending in Saudi Arabia, with titles like Morocco’s Bayn al Qsor and Algeria’s Al Rihan among the top five most consumed in Saudi Arabia according to data measured by Parrot Analytics.
This distribution underscores the significant contributions from these regions, each bringing its unique flavour to the Ramadan line-up, but also the ability of content to travel across the MENA region, with its different dialects.
Iraq’s potential boom
Iraq has shown remarkable growth as an independent market. Investment in Iraqi Ramadan dramas has surged by 30% compared to last year, already a 70% increase from 2022, positioning Iraq as a potential next big player, similar to Saudi Arabia. However, questions arise about whether Iraqi content can achieve the same level of consumption across the Arab world as Egyptian content. The local market’s size and the absence of comprehensive demand-side data add layers of uncertainty. To that point, demand-side data obtained from Parrot Analytics reveals that Iraqi Ramadan series have unexpectedly been among the top five most consumed in countries like Morocco, unveiling big opportunities for inter-regional untapped trade deals.
The main drivers of the Iraqi content economy are platforms like 1001, Al Sharqiya TV, Iraqi broadcaster UTV and telco-backed OTT platform Almanasa. Additionally, the Directorate of Drama at the Iraqi Media Network has announced significant investment in Iraqi films and series, further boosting the industry.
Advertising trends: The rise of product placement
A significant trend in 2024 is the shift in advertising strategies within drama series. Product placement is becoming a popular non-intrusive alternative to traditional ads, employed on ‘ad-free’ tiers on SVOD platforms. Historically, product placement in Arabic content, especially films, has been informal and unstructured. However, there’s now a growing interest in formalising this inventory type for ad spend, particularly driven by MBC Media Services for the world’s biggest Arabic platform, Shahid.
Brands and products like Nivea, Turkish coffee, Buffalo Wild Wings and KFC have been spotted in Egyptian drama series such as Farawla and Hadatha Bil Fe’l. This underscores the untapped potential of product placement as a revenue source, providing an additional financial stream for content creators, broadcasters and the entire ecosystem.
Analysing investment trends
An analysis of investment trends by platforms reveals an interesting shift. There are close to 60 platforms operating in the MENA region, around 70% of them regional ones focused on Arabic content. Last year, the top investors in Arabic drama series were platforms like Shahid, Watchit, Viu, OSN and Awaan (Dubai TV). This year, however, the top five investors in mosalsalat (drama series) include platforms that are perceived to be smaller or serve niche markets: Iraq’s Almanasa, Sharjah TV’s Maraya and Iraq’s booming hyper-local platform 1001.
This trend is significant, reaffirming that MENA audiences are best served as several niche groups rather than a single homogeneous region. The diversification of investment sources highlights the evolving landscape of content consumption in the region, where tailored content for specific audience segments is becoming increasingly important.
