According to the study, football, StarzPlay Originals, and top Turkish titles are amongst the most-watched shows in Saudi Arabia.
SVOD platform StarzPlay has released a comprehensive study focused on viewership trends in Saudi Arabia for the year 2023.
According to the study, nearly 45% of StarzPlay’s entertainment audience hails from Saudi Arabia, while Saudi viewers constitute 30% of the platform’s sports audience.
Football has emerged as the top favourite sport among Saudi viewers, claiming a 60% share of the Saudi sports audience. Cricket follows closely, with 40% of Saudi Arabian StarzPlay Sports subscribers tuning in, while UFC and rugby also rank among the top-watched sports in the Kingdom.
In terms of entertainment genres, StarzPlay Originals, comedy boxsets, Arabic, and Turkish titles are in high demand within the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia accounts for 50% of the audience share for StarzPlay Originals. Both Western and Arabic Originals have gained popularity in Saudi Arabia, with titles like Million Dollar Listing UAE and the PowerBook series, including PowerBook IV Force and PowerBook II Ghost, Harley, Big Lie, Kaboos, and The Chamber finding a strong following among Saudi subscribers.
Since the addition of Watch IT content and Arabic Original titles to its content library, StarzPlay has witnessed an increase in the number of Saudi viewers watching Arabic content since February 2023. Saudi viewers also have an appetite for new Hollywood movies, especially in the thriller and action genres. Titles like Infinite, Memory, Last Seen Alive, Corrective Measures, Thirteen Minutes, Hidden Strike, and Blackout have garnered significant popularity among Saudi viewers.
Speaking about the survey, Tony Saab, Senior Vice President of Content and Programming at StarzPlay, said: “Saudi Arabia is one of our key markets and we are delighted to witness the ongoing expansion in viewership. The appeal of sports in Saudi has been truly remarkable for us and it’s fantastic that we can appeal to such a diverse range of sports enthusiasts with our wide array of sports programming, spanning football, rugby, cricket and more. Additionally, Saudi Arabia has shown immense interest in StarzPlay Originals, both Western titles and locally produced Arabic titles. This underlines the importance of our commitment to consistently delivering high-quality content for our audiences and we remain dedicated to bringing the finest entertainment to our Saudi viewers.”
The study also revealed that most Saudi consumers prefer to watch their favourite shows and sports on StarzPlay via TV streaming or mobile phones, with three times more viewers using iOS devices compared to Android phones.
To commemorate the 93rd Saudi National Day, StarzPlay has introduced a special offer for its Saudi subscribers. New customers subscribing through the starzplay.com website on Saudi National Day (September 23rd) using a bank credit or debit card can access a wide range of programming for just SAR 9.3 ($2.48) per month, including VAT, or SAR 93 ($24.79) per year, for life.
