by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice's relaunched Showmax video streaming service is set to be second most-used across Africa by 2029, according to the latest consumer research projections, eclipsed by Netflix and followed by Amazon Prime Video in third place.
Sub-Saharan Africa will have 16 million subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) consumers by 2029 -7 million more than last year - according to the latest estimated projections from Digital TV Research, with South Africa and Nigeria as the two biggest streamer markets on the continent jointly contributing 59% (9.4 million) of this 16 million total.
According to Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, Africa's video streaming penetration will actually still be low by 2029, with only 7.1% of TV households paying for at least one video streamer subscription five years from now, although it will be up 4.7% compared to the end of 2023.
Netflix is set to remain Africa's SVOD market leader, with 6.9 million projected subscribers by 2029.
MultiChoice's Showmax, which has relaunched in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal's Peacock and Sky, is projected to have 3.7 million paying subscribers five years from now.
Amazon Prime Video will grow to 2.97 million subscribers across sub-Saharan Africa by 2029 and be in third place but the latest projection doesn't take into account Amazon's shocking announcement last month that Amazon MGMG Studios has abruptly axed spending on any new local African productions.
Amazon is set to launch its local marketplace in South Africa within
months and will offer its Amazon Prime subscription delivery service – something
which includes Amazon Prime Video as part of a bundled offering. This will
likely boost the usage of this streaming service.
Disney+ which seems as if it will remain limited in its availability in sub-Saharan Africa to South Africa only, will be in fourth place in the streamers race by 2029 with only 905 000 subscribers.
Apple TV+ will have around 245 000 subscribers by 2029.
"SVOD is a battle between Netflix and regional player Showmax," says Simon Murray.
"Rich in local content and sports rights, Showmax now has access to NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures and HBO content. Showmax’s parent MultiChoice recently rejected a takeover bid from Canal+".
