‘Netflix Offline’ – A Forward Push for Middle Eastern Markets?
In response to the recent published article “Netflix May Come Out With An Offline Viewing Option”, Delta Partners consultant, Victor Sunyer, shares his views on the rapid explosion of online streamed content in emerging markets. In addition to assessing whether introducing an offline version of Netflix would prove to be a way forward across the Middle East.
During the CES 2016 technology show in Las Vegas, chief executive Reed Hastings officially announced Netflix’s big plan to offer online streamed services to over 130 countries worldwide.
Netflix’s first onset in 2016 has been met with applause from UAE & Middle Eastern residents who were finally able to stream their favourite TV shows such as ‘Orange is the New Black’ and ‘House of Cards’ right to their computer devices and portable tablets on-the-go.
However, when it comes to offline streamed services in the Middle East the introduction of ‘offline streamed video’ is expected to witness different tides. In the more commercially developed countries such as the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar who house over 90 per cent internet penetration rates, the usage of an offline video streamer is expected to settle as ‘second option’ due to high internet accessibility and quality rates across different parts of the country [1] (The Middle East Statistics, 2016).
On the other hand, countries who either suffer from limited interact access points or floaty internet connections in other fragmented cities of Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan will greatly reap the benefits of downloadable videos without the need for direct internet access. Moreover, other giant content streamers present in the Middle East such as icflix and Cinemoz are also expected to follow track once the success of Netflix’s offline streamed videos fleshes out over the course of the years.
Ultimately, no one can deny the powerful potential of over-the-top content (OTT) on the digital sphere. Last year, global subscription revenues tipped a sizeable 32.3 per cent rise to $10.9 billion with video-on-demand consumerism.
