African SVOD set for take-off

In contrast with the tailing off of paid streaming growth in markets such as the US, African SVOD is set to grow rapidly in the coming years, according to Digital TV Research.

The research outfit predicts that Africa will have 18 million paying SVOD subscriptions by 2029, up from eight million at end-2023.

Despite this fast growth, SVOD penetration overall will remain low, with only 7.7% of TV households paying for at least one subscription by 2029, says Digital TV Research.

Netflix is predicted to be the market leader at the end of the forecast period, with 7.55 million subscribers by 2029; adding 3.4 million from end-2023.

Second-placed Showmax, owned by South African pay TV provider MultiChoice, will have 4.4 million paying subscribers by 2029; nearly three million more than in 2023, according to Digital TV Research.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “The SVOD sector in Anglophone Africa is evolving into a battle between Netflix and local player Showmax. Rich in local content and sports rights, Showmax now has access to NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures and HBO content.”