The revenues from over-the-top video streaming services in sub-Saharan Africa will rise from $223 million in 2018 to more than $1 billion by 2024, according to new research from Digital TV Research - with almost half of that coming from South Africa.
About 40% of over-the-top (OTT) revenues will be from South Africa, the continent's most sophisticated TV market, followed by Nigeria with 22%.
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) is the dominant model, projected to bring in revenues of $782 million by 2024 from 10.2 million subscribers, up from 3 million at the end of 2018.
South Africa where SVOD services like Netflix South Africa, Showmax and Amazon Prime Video are leading the charge in OTT growth, will be in the lead with 3.46 million subscribers, followed by Nigeria with 2.56 million subscribers, together accounting for 59% of sub-Saharan Africa's entire SVOD subscriber base.
The top 5 services accounted for 87% of sub-Saharan Africa's SVOD subscriptions by the end of 2018, with this proportion to be retained throughout the forecast period.
Netflix is the biggest platform at present, with 45% of SVOD subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa. This is projected to fall slightly by 2024 to 39% (4 million subscribers).
Netflix will take 64% of the region’s SVOD revenues by 2024 – similar to the 2018 proportion.
Simon Murray at Digital TV Research, says "Market dynamics have shifted over the last year. Despite its relatively high prices, Netflix has consolidated its market leadership. There have been many fewer platform launches, especially on a country level. Furthermore, several multinational players appear to have reined in their ambitions."
