Monday, 21 December 2015

Welcome to the Digital Age

In my last post, I've established that producing and consuming online content is extremely popular in Saudi Arabia.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, though. Considering that the conditions in the country were more or less ripe for such a movement. 

To illustrate, consider the following:



(Image Source: MPI)
  • Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East with a population of +30 million, of which the largest demographic constitutes people in their youth, such that 29% are under the age of 14 and 64% are between the ages of 15 - 67 as of 2015 (Source: countrymeters.info). Furthermore, according to statistics posted on Youtube's Press Page, the largest demographic of Youtube viewers, although based on a North American audience, lies between the ages of 18-49 (source: Youtube.com). Whereas a survey posted on newmediarockstars.com, has estimated that the age the average Youtube star is around 27 years old (source: newmediarockstars.com).

  • According to statistics posted on mashable.com, Saudi Arabia ranked 3rd in a list of the world’s top 15 countries in smartphone penetration, such that +70% of the population own a smartphone device (source: mashable.com).
The Uturn Team, posted on their Facebook Page in 2012

Speaking of which, in November 2015, Uturn tweeted that they had recently struck a partnership with Zain KSA (a leading telecom company serving the wider MENA region), in which Zain collaborated with Uturn to develop a new value added service where subscribers receive weekly exclusive Uturn content and behind the scenes footage from popular programmes directly on their smartphone devices (Source: Saudi Gazette).



  • In 2011, MBC (the MENA regions’s largest privately owned satellite television broadcaster) launched the region’s first online Video on Demand (VOD) service: SHAHID.net. SHAHID initially encompassed MBC's most popular programmes and was used primarily as a ‘Catch-Up TV’ resource by its viewers, specifically after the month of Ramadan (a period of primetime television in the Arab world). Such that viewers were able to 'catch up' on shows that they've missed during the holy month. The service proved extremely popular amongst MENA users and the website gained over 30 million visits and 60 million views within a year of its launch (source: digitalproductionme.com).
    SHAHID's logo; the Middle East's alternative to services like Netflix and Hulu






           
    The MBC Logo 











    Additionally, a study conducted in 2012 by Liquid Thread shows that the introduction of the service contributed to an increase in online content viewership in Saudi Arabia, as well as the emergence of other VOD services such as OSN's OSN Play (i.e. OSN is one of the largest subscription television networks in the MENA region, offering +130 channels of premium Arab and International entertainment). 




    SHAHID's services have since expanded to include numerous apps compatible with a variety of platforms such as Apple and Android, enabling viewers to watch film and television content on the go. Moreover, statistics show that the website receives over 20 million visits per month with 11.8% of traffic coming from Saudi Arabia (source: similarweb.com).



    SHAHID'S 2015 Ramadan 'With You Wherever You Go' Commercial.

    • In 2013, The Social Clinic revealed that Saudi Arabia was ranked as the World’s Leading Country in Twitter Usage per capita; with 40% of tweets generated in the Arab world coming from Saudi Arabia alone (source: thesocialclinic.com). In addition, recent statistics from 2014 reveal that 29% of the Saudi population are active social media users with the most popular platforms being WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter (source: statista.com). 
    Source: BBC Blogs


    Consequently, in mid 2014, Tubefilter released an infographic revealing a list of the World’s Most Avid Watchers of Youtube… Can you guess which Country was ranked as the first? 

    That’s right, Saudi Arabia.





    (Source: Tubefilter)



    In conclusion, it can be deduced that the technology and social media spheres often associated with the production and distribution of online audiovisual content were (and still are); readily available and accessible to the average Saudi. 

    Elements of which can spark enthusiasm and encouragement in a group of 'restless tech-savvy youths with smartphones and cameras' interested in filmmaking and the production of content in general. 

    As an afterthought, I believe it's safe to say that the information included in this post can explain the 'tech-savvy youths with smartphones and cameras' bit... but what about the 'restless' part? 



    Guess you'll have to wait for the next post to find out :)

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