Pay TV potential still limited in Jordan — report

AMMAN — Several challenges face increased adoption of Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) in Jordan, according to the Arab Advisers Group.

“One of the major issues facing further adoption of IPTV services in Jordan is the cost, for there are hundreds and thousands of free satellite channels making it unfeasible for many Jordanians to pay for TV channels,” Jawad Abbassi, founder and general manager of the Arab Advisers Group, told The Jordan Times over the phone on Saturday.

Fourteen service providers in nine Arab countries offer IPTV services, the majority of them in GCC states, according to a recently released report by the Arab Advisers Group.   

“Salaries are higher in the Gulf states. This is the reason why there are more providers and more users of pay TV in these countries,” he said.

The report noted that IPTV is in its initial stage of penetration in the Arab world, and is still developing.

“In Jordan, we are still at the very early stages. The number of IPTV users is very limited,” Abbassi said.

The availability of many free satellite channels offering sports, news, entertainment and movies make the adoption of IPTV harder, he added.

Other challenges are the limited penetration of fibre optic cables and broadband in Jordan, Abbassi noted.

“By April 2015... Bahrain had the largest number of IPTV providers with three available in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia and the UAE followed with two service providers each,” Hiba Al Atiyat, Arab Advisers senior research analyst, said in the report e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

“As broadband Internet expands in the Arab world, IPTV adoption is increasing. The competition among IPTV service providers within the same country drives its offered features into frequent upgrades, which makes the user’s TV viewing experience more interactive,” Atiyat added.

Alaa Yaseen, who works as a salesman at an accessories store in Amman, feels that pay TV is unnecessary since “there are thousands of free channels.”

“With the Internet and the availability of many programmes I can download any movie for free. For me it does not make sense to pay for something that you can easily find for on many websites,” Yaseen said.