Revenues for pay-TV platforms in the Middle East and North Africa will fall by $1.6 billion between peak year 2016 and 2029, according to a new forecast. Digital TV Research puts the fall down to a combination of the growth in OTT and widespread piracy. This comes despite the number of pay-TV subscribers growing by 3 million over the same period to 18 million – so ARPUs will fall. Pay-TV revenues for the 13 Arabic-speaking countries will be $802 million by 2029; half of the $1,570 million recorded in 2016. Pay-TV revenues in Israel will drop from $1.14 billion to $376 million over the same period.
