Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service ShowMax in South Africa has expanded to 36 African countries.
ShowMax that was launched in August 2015 is now available in 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and has the largest SVOD catalogue in the continent where it now competes with rival services like Netflix that's been available across Africa since January 2016.
ShowMax outside of South Africa is priced in dollar and costs $7.99 per month for unlimited viewing of the catalogue of around 15 000 TV show episodes and films.
The service includes a Kiswahili language section and a Nollywood section, as well as a section of classic African films.
"We've been busy testing the service in key locations across the continent and optimising our delivery network," says Barron Ernst, ShowMax chief product officer in a statement.
"We've adapted our apps to address the needs of consumers in Africa, introducing features like downloads for viewing TV shows and movies when not connected."
"We've added Kiswahili and Nollywood shows and movies to our existing class-leading catalogue of Hollywood and British favourites."
"The growth potential of the African market is huge and we're not the only internet TV service looking to meet that demand," says Barron Ernst.
"The difference is that we're not simply cutting-and-pasting an existing model from elsewhere, and instead have built a product and content selection designed specifically for Africa."
