Antonia Faulkner, Head of Corporate Communications and Ads Marketing, Analytics and Insights EMEA, Samsung Electronics.In this exclusive interview, Antonia Faulkner, Head of Corporate Communications and Ads Marketing, Analytics and Insights EMEA, Samsung Electronics speaks to Campaign Middle East on the opportunity of CTV advertising in the region.
Q. Considering the scale and pace of streaming – and what it means for advertisers, how is the growth of CTV transforming viewing habits across MENA?
Streaming is on the rise across the Gulf, which means advertisers are discovering new ways to connect with engaged audiences there and across the wider region. The streaming video market in MENA is on track to reach $1.5bn by the end of 2025, with the number of people using subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services projected to surpass 27 million, according to a forecast by research firm Omdia earlier this year.
Demand for consumer entertainment, at little to no cost, is enjoying record growth, driven by a mix of Arabic and English-language content, and underpinned by high internet penetration in the GCC countries.
Smart TVs in many ways have been the gateway to the streaming explosion globally, transforming TVs from a simple one-way device to the hub of the connected home. Samsung was early in recognising this shift in viewing behaviours and launched Samsung TV Plus, our ad-supported free streaming service, in the US in 2015. Today it reaches over 90 million active users globally, including Samsung households in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Samsung TV Plus offering is continuously expanding to include significant new channel additions. Regional partnerships have been struck, such as with Egypt’s leading entertainment service WATCH IT, offering eight channels with favourite Arabic TV shows, drama series and movies across a number of genres. Notable local Arabic content available through the service includes Zee Aflam, El Le’ba and Nasser Al Qasabi, while among the international channels are Top Gear, Euronews and Tennis+. Of course, there is already a wealth of entertainment options available in MENA – including ever-shifting subscription TV and broadcast video on demand options, as well as traditional linear TV, new Advertising Video On Demand (AVOD) channels, and FAST TV.
TV advertising has never been more compelling for brands in MENA, and streaming is a big driver of that. Across the region, the numbers are rising steadily – as in Europe and the US, our research shows that CTV now leads at-home viewing. In MENA, 67 per cent of Samsung Smart TV owners say they’re subscribed to at least three different streaming platforms. Meanwhile, according to GWI, Samsung Smart TV owners in the region are 51 per cent more likely than the average online user to stream video daily.
Q. In terms of demographics, who makes up the primary target audience for CTV advertising in the Middle East?
Younger audiences have jumped across with particular enthusiasm. Gen Z and Millennials, who are well known to be far harder to reach with linear TV, have a higher chance of exclusively watching OTT TV.
In fact, many are on streaming platforms every day. GWI data shows that among 18-34-year-old Samsung Smart TV owners in the region, 89 per cent identify their Smart TV as their primary screen for entertainment; they are also 66 per cent more likely than the average online user to be heavy streamers.
Given this shift, and the huge choice at streamers’ fingertips, reaching a mass audience has never been so complex. In fact, in a fragmented market, with linear TV declining and audiences spread across a multitude of apps and channels, the home screen is virtually the only thing every Smart TV viewer sees.
Samsung’s first-party viewing data further supports this: Ramadan, a key viewing moment in the region, drove TV usage across MENA up by 42 per cent after sunset during Iftar – soaring to 80 per cent past midnight – with the Smart TV home screen acting as the universal gateway into viewing content on TVs.
The good news for advertisers is that the concept of an ‘unreachable’ streamer audience is slowly fading away.
Q. What are some of the challenges in CTV advertising within the region and how can they be overcome?
The challenge with today’s fragmented CTV landscape has now become identifying where audience members are going for their entertainment. Understanding how media is consumed throughout the day, across apps and devices has become integral in reaching today’s CTV consumer. As the number one TV manufacturer globally, Samsung Ads has the scale and extensive first-party TV data to help advertisers connect with their audiences whenever and however they watch their TV content.
We also know that Smart TV audiences appreciate relevant advertising; 37 per cent of Samsung Smart TV users want to see ads curated to their interests or the content they are watching and 45 per cent say the primary way they find new products or brands is via ads on the TV. Utilising Smart TV first-party data & viewership insights can help advertisers deliver tailored and personalised messages that deliver real impact.
The new TV landscape can be confusing for advertisers, but in a market where the enthusiasm for streaming is rising – Connected TV has a bright future.
By Antonia Faulkner, Head of Corporate Communications and Ads Marketing, Analytics and Insights EMEA, Samsung Electronics.
