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Facebook is MENA’s leading second screen activity. A study by Ipsos covering Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE (and commissioned by Facebook) found that people are 7 times more likely to second screen on Facebook than YouTube and 3.3 times more than Twitter.
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43% of people in those countries “second screen” when watching TV. 36% use their phone, 13% use laptops and 5% use tablets.
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Respondents check their Facebook Newsfeed, an average of 14 times a day, the same research revealed. Much of this inevitably taking place whilst watching TV.
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Second Screen activity is likely to increase as specific Social TV services come to the region. YouToo, for example, allows viewers to interact in real time – from the web or their mobile device – with TV programs using video, pictures, voting and social media.
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A Second Screen influenced TV format from Israel is going global. Rising Star is a talent show with a difference; it separates singers from the studio audience by a video wall. Only when a certain number of viewers have voted – using the show’s app – is the wall between performer and audience lifted.
This is an extract from my third annual round-up of Social Media in the Middle East. You can download a copy of the document here and it also available onScribd,SlideShareand Academia.edu.
Damian Radcliffe 