By: Gagan Uppal, Country Head MENA, Xapads Media

Ramadan has long delivered unmatched attention in the MENA region. But in today’s connected TV era, attention is no longer fragmented or assumed. It is centralized, intentional, and observable at the device level. OEM level CTV signals are turning Ramadan from a seasonal spike into one of the most measurable moments in the media calendar. As Connected TV emerges as the primary screen in households, over 56% of viewers across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt intend to stream content on CTV during Ramadan rather than traditional television. This shift marks a decisive change in how families consume content across the month. For brands, Ramadan planning is no longer about maximising reach alone-it’s about understanding viewing signals early, interpreting intent, and acting with precision as attention builds.

In particular, OEM- and OS-level CTV signals offer a deeper lens into household behaviour revealing what families are watching, when viewing peaks, and how these patterns shift from the early days of Ramadan through to Eid. As we move into 2026, these insights are becoming central to how brands plan Ramadan campaigns, enabling them to anticipate intent, not just react to it.

Ramadan Viewing Goes Deeper into System-Level Signals

CTV adoption across MENA has accelerated significantly over the past two years, fuelled by affordable smart TVs, bundled OTT subscriptions, and a strong cultural preference for shared, co-viewing, particularly during Ramadan evenings. For advertisers, this has created a new reality: while reach continues to expand, competition for premium inventory is intensifying. What many brands still overlook is that smart TV ecosystems operate very differently from traditional television. OEMs and operating systems sit closest to the device, unlocking aggregated, privacy -aligned signals such as content genre consumption by time of day, app-level engagement patterns across different phases of Ramadan, and shifts in household viewing intensity from suhoor to iftar to late night. These are not post-campaign learnings; they are planning signals. When read early, they fundamentally reshape how Ramadan media calendars are built.

The Shift Toward Predictive Ramadan Planning

Traditionally, Ramadan media planning has followed a predictable pattern: heavy bursts in the opening week, a race for scale mid-month, and sharply inflated costs as Eid approaches. Increasingly, data suggests this approach is inefficient. 

Ramadan 2025 alone generated over 72 billion TRPs across media, with average daily viewing time exceeding 4.5 hours, intensifying competition for premium placements throughout the month. In 2026, brands that leverage OEM-level CTV signals have the opportunity to plan differently.

By analysing pre-Ramadan viewing build-up-such as rising consumption of long-form content, family-friendly programming, and regional OTT platforms, brands can anticipate where demand will peak weeks in advance. This unlocks three clear advantages: earlier access to premium CTV inventory before CPMs rise, more effective sequencing across screens with CTV establishing context and mobile driving action, and steadier delivery across the month rather than over-indexing on a few high-cost days. Across anonymised Ramadan campaigns executed within Smart TV and CTV ecosystems, I’ve consistently observed that brands activating ahead of Ramadan’s first week achieve stronger reach efficiency, higher completion rates, and greater flexibility to optimise as the month unfolds.

Why OEM-Level Signals Surpass Platform Signals

OTT platforms offer valuable insights, but they capture only a partial view of household behaviour. OEM- and OS-level signals, by contrast, aggregate viewing patterns across apps and content environments, delivering a more complete and accurate picture of how families actually consume content during Ramadan. For instance, a household moving between religious programming, drama series, and sports during Ramadan evenings signals very different creative and category opportunities than one focused solely on entertainment.

Research from the UAE indicates that over 70% of viewers continue watching TV consistently throughout Ramadan, with pronounced peaks around Iftar and late night windows that system-level intelligence captures with greater precision. Notably, late-night viewing during the final ten days of Ramadan often aligns with heightened commerce intent, but only for brands that have established familiarity earlier in the month. This is where OEM-level intelligence becomes truly strategic as it allows planners to move beyond buying impressions toward designing presence, deciding when to appear, on which screen, and what role the brand should play within the broader Ramadan journey.

CTV in an Omnichannel Ramadan Strategy

Once these audience signals are understood, the focus shifts from insight to orchestration. CTV does not replace mobile or in-app channels during Ramadan; rather, it anchors them. In the most effective Ramadan strategies seen across MENA, CTV is leveraged to:

Establish brand context and emotional resonance in shared viewing moments

Build frequency without fatigue through premium environments

Prime audiences for performance-driven activation on mobile and in-app formats

When orchestrated this manner, CTV-led sequencing delivers greater media efficiency, stronger control over pacing and frequency, and more predictable performance outcomes across the full Ramadan cycle.

OEM -level signals ensure this sequencing is intentional, not assumed.

Ramadan Planning in 2026 and Beyond

Over 90% of Ramadan consumers say brands that align with the timing and spirit of the month are more effective, making early, signal-led decision-making a competitive necessity, not just an advantage.

In 2026, the question is no longer whether CTV belongs in Ramadan plans, it’s whether brands are interpreting the right system-level signals early enough to shape presence, pacing, and performance across the month.

From what I see across MENA markets, the brands that win Ramadan are not the loudest-they are best prepared and timed.