By mid 2025, the Middle East and North Africa streaming market had turned into a numbers game that did not favour anyone trying to go it alone. Omdia expects MENA streaming revenues to reach 1.5 billion dollars in 2025, with a handful of platforms fighting for the same wallets. At the top of the pile sits Shahid with 4.4 million subscribers, followed by YouTube Premium on 3.7 million, Netflix with 3 million and StarzPlay with 2.3 million as of December 2024.
So when MBC Group announced in late July that MBCNOW would bundle Shahid, Netflix and MBC’s linear channels under one subscription, it was more than a distribution change. The new pack, launched in Saudi Arabia, promises more than 21 per cent savings compared to paying for Shahid and Netflix separately and brings both catalogues into a single interface.
Netflix had watched the local rivals grow faster in Arab markets and it became clear that their standalone subscription method was not going to work here.
How Netflix Entered The Region And Where It Hit A Wall
Netflix arrived in the Middle East with the same playbook it used almost everywhere else. Direct billing. A global catalogue. A few locally relevant titles layered on top. For a while, that was enough. In many Arab countries, Netflix quickly became the reference point for premium streaming, and by the end of 2023 it was still the largest single SVOD player across thirteen Arabic-speaking markets with 3.8 million subscribers, just ahead of Shahid VIP on 3.5 million.
But the market shifted. Omdia’s newer data shows Shahid pulling ahead with 4.4 million subscribers in MENA by December 2024, while Netflix sits at 2.6 million. Shahid’s strength is not an accident. It is built around deep Arabic localisation, Ramadan tentpole releases and heavy investment in regional originals that feel familiar to Saudi and Gulf households.
At the same time, aggregation became the norm. Telecom bundles, pay-TV apps and super-hub platforms like MBCNOW trained users to expect one login, one bill and access to multiple content sources. Platforms such as OSN+, now backed by Warner Bros. Discovery and merged with Anghami into a 120-million-user entertainment ecosystem, leaned into this model and positioned themselves as homes for several brands rather than just one library.
In that environment, Netflix’s pure direct-to-consumer approach started to look exposed. Strong local competitors, fragmented rights, subscription fatigue and limited cultural stickiness meant that growth was slowing in exactly the markets it hoped to deepen. The MBC deal is Netflix admitting that in MENA, distribution power already sits elsewhere.
Why The MBC Partnership Became Necessary
Netflix did not have a content problem in MENA. It had a distribution problem. Arabic-speaking households still prioritise regional stories, Ramadan programming and family-friendly linear channels, and none of that sits naturally inside Netflix’s global catalogue. What MBC brings is cultural presence. The group owns the region’s largest broadcaster, the biggest Arabic SVOD service (Shahid) and one of the strongest billing reach footprints across Saudi Arabia.
Two strategic gaps pushed Netflix to the table.
First, local stickiness. Netflix originals perform well, but they rarely define the cultural conversation in the Gulf. Shahid does. Ramadan does. MBC’s long-running franchises do. Netflix needed a partner already embedded in everyday viewing habits.
Second, regional distribution and payments. Telecom bundles dominate subscription journeys in MENA, and billing relationships sit with operators and aggregators, not individual SVODs. As user expectations shifted toward unified platforms, Netflix needed to be inside the hubs that already manage payment, discovery and retention.
MBC also benefits. The company has spent the past two years transforming its digital arm into a unified hub. Integrating Netflix into MBCNOW gives it global depth, strengthens its value proposition against OSN+ and consolidates its position as the entertainment gateway for Saudi households. The July deal solves problems for both sides without either one losing brand control.
What The Bundle Has Achieved So Far
The partnership is early, but the first signals point to a shift in value perception. The combined Shahid–Netflix pack launched with a 21 per cent saving compared to paying for both services separately, as confirmed by Arab News. On launch day, MBCNOW climbed App Store rankings in Saudi Arabia, reflecting a spike in downloads triggered by the announcement.
Omdia analysts tracking Q4 2025 subscription trends reported a noticeable increase in users who prefer aggregated experiences over standalone SVOD apps, with MENA showing one of the highest aggregation preferences globally.
For Netflix, the visibility boost is immediate. Being surfaced inside MBCNOW’s interface places its titles in front of households that already rely on MBC for daily entertainment, Ramadan programming and family viewing. Instead of being a separate destination, Netflix becomes part of a package that feels complete.
Where This Trajectory Leads In 2026
The MBC partnership is not a tactical bundle. It is a glimpse of where the region is heading. By 2026, the competition will not centre on standalone catalogues. It will be about which aggregator controls the most valuable mix of Arabic originals, global titles and daily viewing channels.
MBCNOW wants to be that default hub. By folding Netflix into its ecosystem, it strengthens its position against OSN+, which is building its own super-hub through the Warner Bros. Discovery partnership and the Anghami merger. For Netflix, this model offers deeper cultural reach without rebuilding its entire localisation strategy.
The broader trend is clear. More Arabic originals. More bundled economics. More strategic alliances. And more weight shifting toward Saudi Arabia, which is now shaping how streaming is priced, packaged and discovered in the region.
If 2024 was the year global streamers realised they could not win MENA alone, 2026 is when the region’s distribution map begins to redraw around the platforms that understand how households here actually watch.
