Fnjan Episode Becomes Most Watched Podcast Episode on YouTube Globally with more than 100 Million Views

Saudi podcast Fnjan, achieved a record of over 100 million views in just over a year on its episode featuring renowned relationship and communication skills trainer, Yasser Al Hazimi, becoming the most-watched podcast episode on YouTube globally to date, surpassing the global viewership of Joe Rogan and Elon Musk episode that has 69 million views over the past 5 years.

The three-hour episode delved into human relationships and achieving balance, differentiating between self-love and vanity, among other topics. Remarkably, 74% of the viewers are from outside Saudi Arabia, the largest viewer demographic is between 25-34 age group and 21% of the audience watched the episode with English subtitles. Many viewers attribute the episode’s appeal to Al Hazimi’s charismatic presentation and society’s urgent need to understand the dynamics of social relations, especially in light of the challenges of contemporary life.

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Al-Hazimi expressed his surprise at the great success this episode achieved after a 23-year journey in media appearances. What is most important to him, he pointed out, is the positive impact that the episode can have, even if the effect is only on one listener. This emphasis on the potential for positive change through media is a powerful reminder of the influence and responsibility that comes with such a large audience.

Fnjan, which means a ‘small Arabic coffee cup’ in Arabic, is Thmanyah’s flagship podcast, hosted by the founder and CEO, Abdelrahman Abumalih, and the leading Arabic language podcast regionally. It features influential Arab personalities in a warm and homely atmosphere as they deep dive into various topics, including media, culture, religion, history, and more. With over 329 episodes produced, each with over 1M views per episode, the show is famous for its lengthy but deep conversations. It has garnered listenership across the Arabian Gulf market and has been growing steadily across the North African market.

Thmanyah, which translates to “eight” in Arabic, was founded in 2016. At the beginning of this year, it announced its transition from a media-only entity to a technology-powered business, embarking on a journey to revolutionize the landscape of online content creation regionally and globally.

There are an estimated 10 million podcast listeners in the MENA region, and research conducted by Censuswide found that 15% of the adult population in Saudi Arabia are podcast listeners, the highest proportion of ‘heavy’ podcast listeners.

About Thmanyah

Thmanyah is a leading Saudi media technology company that develops tools enabling individuals to enhance Arabic content on the Internet. Producing more than 20 products, including articles, newsletters, documentaries, and podcasts, Thmanyah aims to document life in Arab societies and transform the culture of journalism. The content spans various topics, from culture and cinema to health, lifestyle, and finance. Recognized as the most widespread podcast network in the Arab world, Thmanyah is also the largest producer of documentary films in Saudi Arabia. Thmanyah recently launched ‘Radio Thmanyah’ application dedicated to listening to Arabic and international podcast programs, ‘Thmanyah’ platform for publishing articles and newsletters, in addition to ‘Thmanyah Hosting’ for podcast ads and publishing.