Somalilandsun: The Covid-19 pandemic that continues to rock the world is responsible for a significant share of the shift we are witnessing towards digital entertainment.
Businesses across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are rapidly adopting new business models to incorporate the rise of on-demand content.
Different sectors are pulling new methods to accommodate new demands, and from the online casino reviews, it is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic’s after-effects.
A report published by PwC on the outlook for the entertainment industry across those regions revealed that there is significant damage to the amount of spending by physical media, corporate events, concerts, and media advertising.
That means that revenues in the region could fall to $19.7 billion, which represents 8.3 percent.
However, things are expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels, but that depends on the success achieved by the Covid-19 vaccine that has been distributed widely across the region. It is expected that the industry will continue to grow further from 2022 onwards, as new models are likely to be incorporated following the lessons of the pandemic.
Fadi Komati, the PwC Middle East Technology Consulting partner, is opined that the effects of Covid-19 pandemic could have a positive impact as stakeholders will be keen on taking control of their own media consumption, especially now that there is a growing range of channels and content.
“This would not have been possible without the accelerated adoption of 5G technology in some markets, which has enabled governments to expand digital infrastructure such as high-speed broadband access, and content delivery networks to enable content streaming and new content consumption experiences at home and on the go,” said Komati. “Additionally, the advent of newer 5G technologies has provided opportunities to enhance government transparency and enabled new and more inclusive ways of engaging with the public.”
The report by PwC also found out that following the pandemic, the adoption of streamed video content has grown significantly, and music has catapulted the popularity of online gaming in the region further. After the national lockdowns were announced, more than 50 percent of streamed video content subscribers increased their viewership. Similarly, music streaming services witnessed massive subscriptions too over the same period.
The online gaming sector is also another big winner. Stats indicate that gamers increased by 24 percent in 2020 in the MENA region alone and 11 percent globally.
The head of Equity Strategy at Saxo Bank, Peter Garnry, also spoke of the pandemic’s positive influence. “The pandemic was a game changer for the gaming industry, with many more users being exposed to gaming as sports events and general leisure activity closed. According to data on gaming consumption, the average American adult spends around an hour a day gaming socially online, and the streaming of esports is gaining popularity,” said Peter.
“A good indication of this came in 2019 when the CEO of Netflix said that the company’s biggest threat was not Disney or HBO, but that of Fortnite, one of the most popular games in the world.”
