African SVOD Subs to More Than Quadruple

According to the latest figures from Digital TV Research, Africa will have 12.96 million SVOD subscriptions by 2025, up from 2.75 million at the end of 2019.

From the 10 million additions, South Africa will supply 3 million to take its total to 4.3 million, and Nigeria will add 2.1 million to total 2.73 million.

Netflix accounted for 45 percent of the region’s SVOD subscribers by end-2019. The company will retain its share by 2025 (5.7 million subscribers, up from 1.23 million in 2019). Disney is not expected to start until 2022 but will have 2.71 million paying subscribers by 2025.

Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Local player Showmax will add more than a million paying subscribers, partly due to the launch of its Pro platform and its lower prices for mobile subscribers. It will reach many more homes as a free extension for its pay-TV subscribers.”