Africa SVOD Subs Projected to Triple

According to Digital TV Research, Africa will have 13.6 million paying SVOD subscriptions by 2027, up from 4.9 million at the end of 2021.

The firm reports that only 6.6 percent of TV households will pay for at least one subscription by 2027, up from 3.9 percent in the year-ago period.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “As well as low broadband penetration and low disposable incomes, limited rollout by several global platforms restricts growth. Disney+ will only launch in South Africa and Nigeria. Paramount+ is only likely to start in South Africa. HBO Max will not be a stand-alone platform in Africa.”

Netflix will continue to lead the SVOD market, with 6.4 million subscribers by 2027, accounting for 48 percent of the region’s total. With its limited rollout, Disney+ will just have 1 million subscriptions by 2027. Amazon Prime will be up and running in Nigeria and South Africa in 2023, with a projected 2.6 million subscribers by 2027. Apple TV+ is forecast to have 199,000 subscribers by that time, with Showmax at 2.1 million subs. The projected Showmax total for 2027 is double the 1.01 million subscribers reported for 2022.