STARZPLAY: Football, STARZPLAY Originals and top Turkish titles are amongst the most watched shows in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, September 21, 2023: STARZPLAY, one of the leading video-on-demand subscription (SVOD) services in the region, today revealed a study focused on viewership trends across Saudi Arabia in 2023.  

The streaming platform revealed that nearly 45% of STARZPLAY’s entertainment audience is from Saudi Arabia, with viewers from the Kingdom making up 30% of STARZPLAY Sports’ audience.  

Saudi Arabia proves to be a nation of sports lovers with football emerging as the top favorite for Saudi viewers, taking 60% of the Saudi sports audience share. This was closely followed by cricket which is watched by 40% of Saudi Arabian STARZPLAY Sports subscribers, with UFC and rugby also proving to be amongst the top watched sports in the Kingdom.

STARZPLAY Originals, comedy boxsets, as well as Arabic and Turkish titles stand out as the most sought-after entertainment genres within the Kingdom, with 50% of the audience share of STARZPLAY Originals coming from Saudi Arabia. Western and Arabic Originals have also proven to be popular in Saudi Arabia, with the newly released Million Dollar Listing UAE boxset already gaining traction amongst the Saudi Arabian audience. This momentum continues with strong interest in the PowerBook series, including the latest seasons of PowerBook IV Force and PowerBook II Ghost. STARZPLAY Arabic Originals have also found a fan following in Saudi Arabia, with titles like Harley, Big Lie, Kaboos, The Chamber and Wala Ghalta becoming major favorites for the Saudi Arabian subscribers.

Since the addition of WATCH IT content and Arabic Original titles to its already vast content library, STARZPLAY has witnessed an increase in the number of users from Saudi Arabia watching Arabic content which has doubled since February 2023. Saudi viewers have also shown an appetite for consuming new Hollywood movies, particularly in the thriller and action genres, with titles such as Infinite, Memory, Last Seen Alive, Corrective Measures, Thirteen Minutes, Hidden Strike, and Blackout garnering significant popularity among Saudi viewers.  

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 its 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 STARZPLAY study of Saudi Arabian viewership trends for 2023 also revealed that most Saudi consumers watch their favorite shows and sports on STARZPLAY either by streaming via their TVs or on their mobile phones, with three times more viewers using iOS compared to Android phones.

To celebrate the 93rd Saudi National Day, STARZPLAY has launched a special value-added offer for its Saudi subscribers. Any new customer subscribing through starzplay.com website on Saudi National Day (September 23rd) using a bank credit or debit card can enjoy a wide assortment of brilliant programming at a price of 9.3 SAR per month only, including VAT, or 93 SAR a year, for life. This is a lifetime offer for customers to enjoy STARZPLAY content for as long as their subscription is active. Those planning to celebrate the Saudi National Day with friends and family, tune into STARZPLAY and enjoy a roster of unbeatable content.

With thousands of hours of premium content including the best western content, Arabic shows, Turkish favourites, anime, and live sports, STARZPLAY is fast solidifying its position as a leading multi-faceted entertainment hub. The service is available in 19 countries across the MENA for fans to enjoy quality content anytime, anywhere, and from any device.