At the Saudi Media Forum, Parrot Analytics' CEO Wared Seger presented a talk on the global future of the entertainment industry, highlighting specific success stories, the growth potential in the Middle East region, and the importance of making data driven decisions and quantifying the value of content.
Outlined below are some key insights from the report:
Growing Demand for Non-English Content
- The global share of demand for non-English content has been growing since at least 2018.
- Global audience demand for non-English language content is approaching the 50% mark for the very first time.
Lessons from global success stories - La Casa de Papel and Squid Game
- Squid Game sparked a wave of new K-dramas that saw success around the world. The travelability of Korean content increased notably in the years following Squid Game.
- La Casa de Papel came at the start of a multi-year trend of growing travelability of content from Spain. Ultimately Spanish-originated content has generated over $5 billion in global revenue from 2021 - 2024.
Arabic content is primed for its Squid Game moment
- Since 2020 Arabic content has seen a 16x increase in demand in local markets
- During the same time, this content has witnessed a 13x growth in demand in international markets.
The revenue earned by OTT platforms in MENA is projected to double by 2030
- Already in 2024 over $1B in streaming revenue came from OTT platforms in the MENA region.
- By 2030, $800k in streaming revenue will come from Arabic language content in the MENA region.
Spain and Korea are just two examples of countries that have been at the leading edge of Hollywood's globalized second act. The Middle East looks set to be a new breakout region witnessing international success. Data driven decision making that quantifies the true value of content will be key to understanding and succeeding in this next era of Hollywood.
Download the full report here to explore additional insights into the future of the entertainment industry.
To know more about Parrot Analytics' full suite of entertainment analytics and content valuation products, visit the link here.
