Netflix is commanding 41.9% of the African streaming on-demand video market by 2029, positioning it strategically to take a sizable portion of the industry, according to report.
“The SVOD sector in Anglophone Africa is evolving into a battle between Netflix and local player Showmax. Rich in local content and sports rights, Showmax now has access to NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, and HBO content.” Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research said.
A recent study by Digital TV provided insight into the SVOD trajectory on the continent and predicted a rise in subscriptions.
Africa is predicted to have 18 million strong SVOD users by 2029, a significant increase from the 8 million registered at the end of 2023.
The front-runner is Netflix, which is anticipated to take the top spot with a stunning 7.55 million paid customers by 2029, an increase of 3.4 million users from the end of 2023.
Showmax is predicted to come in second with 4.39 million subscribers by 2029, representing a tremendous increase of over 3 million customers since 2023.
Disney and other competitors are anticipated to attract 1.54 million and 1.1 million subscribers, respectively, while Amazon is anticipated to get 3.14 million customers.
Apple TV, on the other hand, is anticipated to increase the least, with an expected 251,000 paid users.
Even with the tremendous expansion across all platforms, just 7.7% of TV households are anticipated to have at least one SVOD service subscription by 2029.
The market for subscription video-on-demand has expanded quickly over the world. According to a PwC research, the rapidly expanding sector will generate $14.8 billion in revenue in 2025, up from $7.7 billion in 2021, thanks to an 85% increase in its internet access segment.
