by Thinus Ferreira
Gideon Khobane has officially joined Amazon Studios as director for Amazon Prime Video Africa as the latest pick-up from MultiChoice to defect to the video streaming service.
TVwithThinus reported in July 2022 that Gideon Khobane had left MultiChoice where he was group executive of general entertainment, and he has now officially joined Amazon Prime Video Africa after the restraint of trade period had lapsed.
At Amazon Prime Video Africa Gideon Khobane is tasked with growing the Amazon Prime Video streaming service across sub-Sahara Africa, especially in the two top markets South Africa and Nigeria.
Gideon Khobane who remains in South Africa, will be working with Amazon Prime's Africa Originals team, headed up by Ned Mitchell, the
content acquisitions team headed up by Ayanna Lonian, and product teams.
According to Amazon Studios, Gideon Khobane "is tasked with
helping to provide a world-class mix of original and exclusive TV series
and movies for existing Amazon Prime Video members and to attract new customers
in sub-Saharan Africa".
In his role, Gideo Khobane oversee the implementation of programming and marketing
plans for Amazon Prime Video Africa's content offering spanning both global Amazon Originals as well as a planned growing slate of African Originals like the upcoming LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa with Trevor Noah as host.
Similar to Netflix Africa and Disney+, at Amazon Prime Africa Gideon Khobane joins a growing number of former MultiChoice and M-Net executives who've jumped from the traditional pay-TV operator's headquarters in Randburg, Johannesburg to the international streaming services which all have great ambitions and deep pockets to produce localised pan-African continent.
Gideon Khobane is now working with former MultiChoice West Africa boss Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu who is head of Nigerian Originals at Amazon Prime Video in London; former Showmax boss Candice Fangueiro who is head of planning and programming for Africa at Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios; and Kaye Ann Williams, former M-Net local content boss who now heads up scripted series and movies for South Africa at Amazon Prime Video.
Besides MultiChoice's head of general entertainment Gideon Khobane previously also served as SuperSport CEO and M-Net channel director.
