Egypt’s first video-streaming app, Watch iT, launched this month just in time for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The religious season is also the high season for the television industry, but the app’s debut has been panned by critics for high prices and technical failures.
Chilling thrillers, sentimental dramas and classic comedies – Egypt’s famed Ramadan TV series have long united millions of families from the breaking of the fast in the evening until dawn.
In recent years, many have taken to streaming episodes of their
favourite shows on YouTube after they first broadcast on television.
Egypt’s Watch iT, which launched on May 1, aims to grab hold of
this trend and snatch audiences away from the free video-sharing giant.
The platform is owned by the Egyptian Media Group and offers 15
exclusive series produced in Egypt especially for Ramadan, for a monthly fee of
99 pounds ($5.80).
“It’s way too expensive,” said Youssef Ahmed, a
48-year-old father shopping in Cairo during the first days of the fast.
Half-year subscriptions go for 555 pounds, with a year costing 999
pounds — a tall order in a country where the average monthly salary is around
$220.
“Anyway, it’s better to watch the series on television as a
family,” Ahmed commented.
Watch iT facing challenges
Google’s Play Store service has logged more than 10,000 downloads of the app since its launch – far below the projected figures.
Those who have forked out the money for the platform have run up
against technical difficulties, sparking a wave of criticism.
Local media said the site was the victim of “hacking”
and the Egyptian Media Group did not respond to questions.
CEO Tamer Mursi boasted shortly after the app launched that his
media group had played a “modernising” role in Egypt’s television industry
and furthered “the protection of (intellectual property) rights”.
His company owns several television channels, prominent newspapers
and production companies, drawing accusations from critics that it runs a
monopoly.
Surviving competition
In the age of international streaming platforms like Netflix and
Amazon, the moment is right for such a switch in Egypt, but critics say the
Ramadan series industry is not up to the challenge.
“When such a company launches such a service, it is supposed
to test it well before it enters the market,” said Ahmed Hamdi, a
journalist with the business newspaper Al Mal.
Hit by general disorganisation in recent years, the industry’s
latest products have been characterised by rushed filming and sloppy scripts.
“Watch iT is a new experience in the Egyptian market and
fully justified in terms of both its functional and financial aspects, but it
faces many challenges,” said Ahmed Adel, a telecoms research manager at
Beltone Financial.
One of the biggest difficulties, he said, is that it cannot compete
with international platforms.
Netflix from the United States and Wavo out of the United Arab
Emirates are both technically superior and offer dozens of Western, Arab and
Turkish series and films at a lower price.
Watch iT will also have to jostle for screen time with the pirated
content widely available across the Arab world, Adel added.
Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous country and more than 40
percent of its 100 million residents have internet access.
Nearly three-quarters connect with their mobile phones, according
to the latest figures from the telecommunications ministry.