Iflix teams up with Econet’s Kwesé for African SVOD launch

Emerging markets subscription video-on-demand operator Iflix has teamed up with Econet Media-owned African pay TV outfit Kwesé to bring a new Iflix Africa streaming service to markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Iflix, the partnership will focus on targeting the growing base of smartphone users in Africa along with growing consumer demand for premium quality entertainment.

At launch, Iflix Africa will offer consumers throughout the region unlimited access to an extensive range of TV shows, movies and more, including first-run exclusives.

The service will include Hollywood, Nollywood, regional and local programmes, over 2,000 episodes of children’s content, and an extensive collection of locally-commissioned African series and movies exclusive to Iflix Africa, according to the company.

According to the SVOD outfit, as part of the partnership with Econet Group, iflix Africa will soon make its service available in Zimbabwe to Econet Wireless mobile subscribers. Other markets targeted for the initial phase of launches include Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.

Regional head of iflix Africa, Andre de Wet said: “This collaboration represents an incredibly momentous step in iflix’s growth story as we launch in Africa with a partner who shares our vision and commitment to deliver an outstanding service and unrivaled experience for our customers. We are very excited about the deal and what it means for our customers and shareholders in the future.”

Econet Media president and group CEO Joseph Hundah said: “As a next-generation African media company our aim is to play a central role in the evolution of the media industry on the continent. Critical to this is partnering with best-of-breed companies to bring cutting-edge content and services to Africa. This is a significant addition to our multi-platform content distribution model which delivers the very best content to African viewers.”

Iflix, which operates in 18 markets has previously created a joint venture for the Middle East with Kuwait telco Zain, opened an office in Cape Town as its first step in Africa in June.

Kwesé currently offers pay TV service Keseé TV, free-to-air channel Kwesé Free sports, digital platform KweséESPN.com and a mobile TV service in a number of markets.

The company debuted its DTH service across Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia earlier this year, the first stage of a planned phased rollout across the continent.