Netflix South Africa is switching to pricing in rand with the result that South Africans consumers using the global subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service are now paying less and with Netflix SA's basic price now the same as rival Showmax but with a bigger catalogue.
Netflix decided to switch to billing South African subscribers in rand instead of dollar from Tuesday 28 August and in a media enquiry confirmed to TVwithThinus that the dollar to rand switch happened and is part of its "ongoing efforts to localise its offering for the South African market".
The dollar to rand billing switch and resultant decrease brings Netflix's Basic subscription fee of R99 per month to exactly the same as Naspers' Showmax SVOD service run by MultiChoice that is also priced at R99.
Netflix South Africa is aggressively ramping up its efforts to increase its presence, market penetration and general consumer brand awareness at the southern most tip of Africa, the most sophisticated TV market on the African continent and Netflix's "test case" for the continent.
Netflix is targeting rivals like MultiChoice, Showmax, Cell C black, Amazon Prime Video and the flurry of smaller SVOD players trying to make inroads in the growing over-the-top (OTT) digital direct-to-consumer video market.
"With the switch to billing in rands, Netflix has released the local pricing structure for each package. The Basic plan will cost R99 per month, the Standard plan R139 per month, and the Premium plan R169 per month," Netflix tells TVwithThinus.
Until before the dollar to rand switch, Netflix South Africa users had to pay $7.99 (R114.69) for Basic, $9.99 (R143.40) for Standard and $11.99 (R172.11) on Wednesday's rand-dollar exchange rate.
"Since launching in the country in January 2016, the
content library on the Netflix SA service has grown by over 500%, with
shows that speak to South African audiences such as Girlboss (produced
by SA-born Charlize Theron), Mindhunter (also developed
for Netflix by Charlize Theron) and Troy: Fall of a City (filmed
in Cape Town)," says Netflix that also recently licensed the South African film, Catching Feelings, as a Netflix
Original.
Netflix says it will "add even more locally-developed content to its library.
This will include exclusive series, movies, documentaries, stand-up comedy
shows and kids’ content."
"New product features and enhancements to the overall
Netflix experience will also ensure that South African viewers can always
find something great to watch, fast."
