Africa SVOD to add 9 million subscriptions

London, UK, February 10, 2024--Sub-Saharan Africa will have 16 million paying SVOD subscriptions by 2029, up from 7 million at end-2023. South Africa and Nigeria will supply 59% (9.4 million) of the region’s total. However, SVOD penetration will still be low by 2029, with only 7.1% of TV households paying for at least one subscription – although this is up from 4.7% at end-2023 according to Digital TV research.

Netflix will remain the SVOD market leader, with 6.9 million subscribers by 2029. Showmax will be the second largest platform with 3.7 million paying subscribers. With its roll-out expected to be limited to South Africa, Disney+ will only have 905,000 subscriptions by 2029.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “SVOD is a battle between Netflix and regional player Showmax. 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 Plus.”

For more information on the Africa OTT TV and Video Forecasts report, please contact: Simon Murray, simon@digitaltvresearch.com, Tel: +00 44 20 8248 5051