MENA CTV Ad Market Shifts to Performance-Led Measurement, Valued at $65.2B by 2031
Gagan Uppal of Xapads Media highlights the significant growth of the MENA CTV advertising market, projected to reach $65.2 billion by 2031, necessitating a shift towards performance-led measurement frameworks. The article emphasizes the need for advertisers to focus on action-oriented metrics beyond traditional impressions and completion rates, as CTV viewers are increasingly interactive and multi-screen. It advocates for new measurement strategies that track QR scan rates, interaction dwell time, cross-device movement, and attention metrics to optimize campaigns for conversions.
Key Takeaways
- MENA CTV ad market forecast to grow from $18.5B (2025) to $65.2B (2031).
- Viewers are increasingly interactive and multi-screen, moving between CTV and mobile devices.
- Advertisers are adopting interactive formats like pause ads, overlays, and QR codes.
- New measurement focuses on action-oriented signals: QR scan rates, interaction dwell time, cross-device movement, and attention metrics.
- Premium placements, lighter ad loads, viewability, and direct publisher integrations are becoming baseline expectations.
Why It Matters
The rapid expansion of the MENA CTV market demands a re-evaluation of ad measurement, moving beyond impressions to track actual consumer action. This shift directly impacts ad tech providers needing to develop advanced attribution models and advertisers who must adapt campaign strategies for cross-device engagement. Moving forward, the industry will watch for the adoption rate of these new measurement frameworks and their impact on campaign ROI across the diverse MENA region.
Additional Context
The IAB MENA CTV taskforce recently published a 'Capability Map' in May 2026, evaluating over 30 CTV and OEM apps and platforms in the region to clarify buy types, ad placements, and targeting capabilities for advertisers (IAB MENA). This initiative highlights the complexity and fragmentation of the MENA CTV landscape, where capabilities and measurement options vary significantly. The New Digital Age (May 2026) further elaborated on the development of CTV in MENA, noting that while innovation in ad formats is ongoing, challenges remain in standardization, transparency, and third-party validation. They also emphasized that while CTV drives awareness, advanced targeting and interactive formats are increasingly pushing conversion. According to Pubverse (May 2025), understanding CTV attribution in MENA is critical for marketers, particularly due to the high digital adoption rates and multi-device usage in countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia. They underscore the importance of device graph technology, tracking pixel implementation, and various attribution methodologies (deterministic, probabilistic, incrementality testing) tailored to the region's unique mobile-first consumer behavior and evolving privacy regulations. Voxire (2026) points out that in markets like Lebanon, Connected TV advertising is the fastest-growing ad format, driven by streaming adoption and cable-cutting trends. They highlight that YouTube on CTV is a practical starting point for businesses with lower budgets due to its integration with existing Google Ads accounts. The common thread across these reports is the urgent need for robust, standardized, and action-oriented measurement as the MENA CTV market matures.
Read full article at campaignme.com
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