YouTube in Ramadan: The silent giant
Every Ramadan, more than 120 satellite TV channels across the Arab world engage in a high-stakes content race. Scripted dramas – aka musalsalat – become cultural currency, and platforms compete fiercely for attention. Heba Korayem takes us through the trends for Ramadan 2025.
With an estimated* $300- 500m in annual production value, the Ramadan TV season is the most important window in the Arab content calendar. Drama titles released during this 30-day period are not only considered the most expensive, but also the most tradeable. They often serve as proxies for platform strength, market influence and audience loyalty.
Without this concentrated cycle of content production and acquisition, tracking the full scope of market activity, especially beyond the commonly referenced 'big five' MENA media entities (MBC, OSN, BeIN, StarzPlay, YangoPlay), would be nearly impossible. These important trends are rarely reported in English-language industry analysis, but for those who understand Arabic and follow the region from within, it's clear that each of the 22 Arabic-speaking countries has its own local 'top three'. Ramadan brings these players to the forefront, offering one of the clearest indicators of regional opportunity.
In Ramadan 2025, one player stood apart from the traditional broadcast-OTT tug-of-war: YouTube.
Roughly 40% of all tradeable Ramadan scripted series in 2025 were released on YouTube. That's over 100 high-quality serialised dramas made freely available, not including low-budget content like talk shows or cooking programmes. If YouTube were to acquire those assets the way a TV channel or AVOD platform would, it would cost it an estimated $80m. This is a conservative figure calculated using the same metrics many producers use in the local market to price their content, based on perceived audience size of the platform, territory rights, exclusivity, perceived buying power of the platform and, well, personal relationships.
YouTube democratises access to content, but if these are considered the Arab world's most valuable video assets, this raises critical questions: Who is uploading them – and why? Aren't they concerned that free distribution will reduce licensing potential? With CPM rates in MENA lower than in other regions, is YouTube revenue truly sustainable for first-run scripted content? What about the 60+ OTT platforms operating in MENA? Is YouTube acting as a launchpad, or as a competitor?
YouTube by the numbers
Our analysis points to four main YouTube strategies used by MENA players, helping to provide a clearer vision of who's monetising what, where and how, as well as the limitations and territorial preferences.
1- Prioritising reach via cross-platform distribution
40% of Ramadan 2025's tradeable video assets were released on YouTube while also airing on various TV channels and OTT platforms. This means OTTs are sometimes waiving exclusivity and allowing simultaneous or slightly delayed YouTube releases, mainly for marketing value. It's also a smart, if unconventional, play by some producers and distributors trying to have their cake and eat it too during price negotiations with VOD platforms. Examples include Al Ahd and Layali Roxy, along with several titles from Egypt and Yemen which were partially or fully available on YouTube.
But does wider accessibility guarantee higher viewership? The answer lies in duration. Yes – if a title retains viewers past the first few episodes. No – if a title doesn't really stick. Parrot Analytics data confirms this. Of the season's most widely distributed titles, only two ranked among the top 10 most-viewed shows across four key MENA markets, measuring the entirety of the Ramadan season.
Interestingly, those titles weren't the most distributed ones. While Syrian titles Layali Roxy and Al Ahd were the most widely released, the former available on over 20 MENA platforms and TV channels, it was Hakim Basha and Fahd El Batal – Egyptian titles by Synergy appearing on nearly 15 platforms, including YouTube – that consistently ranked highest in popularity among viewers.
2- YouTube-first strategy
This one's interesting – over 3% of Ramadan releases followed a YouTube-first model.
Five in One is a fun experiment targeting Gen Z, youth and basically any adult younger than us. It's the first truly pan-Arab, multi-dialect short-form drama/suspense series made up of just five episodes and starring only influencers. It's packed with Gen Z energy. Was it popular? 1.5m views per episode – pretty solid! Is it the future of Ramadan entertainment? Probably not. Other YouTube-first titles came from independent producers in Tunisia and Sudan, bypassing both networks and platforms, usually supported by sponsorships.
3- Branded content
These are series fully funded by product placement or corporate sponsorship.
Notable examples include Tunisia's Arriere el Goddem, a 12-episode nostalgic comedy funded by six sponsors including big brands like Peugeot and LG, which reached 1.5m views per episode. It was released only on YouTube after a struggle by the producers to break into the gate-keeping structure of traditional channels. In Bahrain, the state broadcaster's Ramadan Sherif featured overt product placements and generated around 100k views per episode. In a region lacking unified audience measurement tools, YouTube views are a valuable metric for advertisers on TV networks and a revenue source for producers.
4- Catch-up strategy
For broadcasters lagging in digital transformation, YouTube serves as a catch-up platform.
54% of YouTube uploads came directly from TV networks, especially in North Africa. Before 2018, this was common practice. But with the rise of digital monetisation and long-term value realisation, many have shifted to launching their own OTT platforms. In 2025 around 20 TV networks have continued this trend, fewer than last year. Notably, Morocco, Yemen and a private Libyan broadcaster have now invested in their own OTT infrastructure.
Regional distribution patterns by country
A heatmap of YouTube distribution shows clear regional patterns across the MENA region.
– Algeria and Morocco lead in YouTube + TV dual release
– Egypt favours TV and OTT, rarely uploading new assets to YouTube
– Tunisia embraces YouTube-first models
– GCC countries like Kuwait and Saudi Arabia stick to closed ecosystems (TV + OTT)
This regional behaviour offers deep insights into platform alliances, monetisation preferences and target audience strategies by country. YouTube's flexibility, scalable ad model and viral reach make it especially appealing for youth-oriented or dialect-specific content from underserved markets.
Strategic outlook: What's next?
– More broadcasters, especially GCC state entities and those in the Franco-Arab region, will invest in OTT tech infrastructure while still using YouTube for marketing (not catch-up).
– Private channels may skip OTT development but pursue stronger platform partnerships.
– Producers will continue to use YouTube as a testing ground and monetisation tool; more importantly, for ad-funded entertainment programmes; most definitely, for the most anticipated upcoming trend: Arabic micro-drama.
– Platforms will maintain a love-hate dynamic with YouTube, a topic deserving its own analysis.
– Tech service providers: The MENA market right now is like Disneyland for tech vendors and will continue to be, particularly in the AdTech space.
– Investors remain cautious, but rising access to content performance data is building confidence and attracting international investment in regional content.
To outsiders, MENA's content market may appear fragmented, even chaotic. But Ramadan exposes its underlying structure. For those familiar with the region's cultural rhythms, it offers one of the clearest roadmaps to untapped opportunity in a rapidly evolving media economy.
This article only scratches the surface of the region's dynamic content landscape. A deeper dive into the funding sources behind regional video assets, platform affiliations, shifting global power plays and growing inter-regional competition reveals even more opportunity – and explains how this market is fuelling both innovation and exponential growth.
*Source: HConsult Content Market Tracker Figure estimated based on:
Data from production sources across key markets Content market activity and trading prices
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