Shahid announces 27m unique monthly users this Ramadan!

With more than 248 million views in Ramadan, the digital platform’s content attracted an audience 46% larger than at the same period in 2018 on its free service and 62% larger on its subscription-based service Shahid Plus.

During the month of Ramadan, Shahid added a total of 50 premium programmes and shows, 28 of which are exclusive to the platform, including Al Hayba 3 , Zelzal, Dof’at Al Qahera, Weld Al Ghalaba, Khamsa Wa Nos, Al-Asouf 2, Zay Al Shams, and Kalabsh 3.

Premium children’s content from MBC3, such as Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and Kung Fu Pandahave also been offered on catch-up right after airing have also been available for all users without subscription.

Mobile downloads of the Shahid app were up early in Ramadan by four times on regular monthly volumes, MBC said.

“We announced major changes to our strategy and level of investment in Shahid early in 2019, and our solid performance during the first five months of 2019, including Ramadan, proves that audiences across MENA love where we are taking our service,” said Johannes Larcher, managing director, MBC Digital.

“Besides being the undisputed home of the most compelling content for Arabic-language TV lovers, the upgraded technology behind our services has been a key factor of Shahid’s success.”

MBC now offers full HD’ streaming and the ability to play Shahid content from users mobile phones on large-screen TVs through Chromecast and AirPlay functionality. As a pure over-the-top (OTT) player, Shahid now claims a market share of about 85% on premium VOD viewership across MENA, based on its Ramadan performance.

“We serve Arabic audiences worldwide, and to better achieve this mission we have recently provided Shahid users outside MENA with the opportunity to access the most popular regular MBC programmes, with the first episode of every series available on the service for free, including recently added series and shows for Ramadan 2019,” said Larcher.

“As a result, we’ve seen growth of 42% in unique users outside the MENA region by Arab diaspora audiences,” he added.

In the second half of 2019, MBC said it will offer more locally produced original content on Shahid, as well as improving the user experience and increasing the platform’s accessibility.