Shahid’s dominance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is monopolistic at this point. The MBC-owned platform boasts an 80% market share and racks up engagement numbers that rival the biggest global streamers. Yet, in industry discussions about the competitive streaming landscape, Shahid remains something of an afterthought. At Connected TV World Summit 2025, Natasha Matos-Hemingway, Shahid’s Chief Commercial, Marketing, and Product Officer, outlined the platform’s evolution. Launched in 2008 as a basic catch-up service, it pivoted to SVoD in 2014 before a major investment in premium subscriptions in 2020. By 2021, Shahid had pushed into live sports, and in a risky move, it later shifted 85% of its content in front of the paywall—a decision that transformed…