Against the current trend of the US market, African Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) will see plenty of growth over the next few years.
Digital TV Research says Africa will have 18 million paying SVOD subscriptions by 2029, up from 8 million at the end of 2023.
Despite this fast growth, SVOD penetration will remain low, with only 7.7% of TV households paying for at least one subscription by 2029.
Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “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.”
Netflix will have 7.55 million subscribers by 2029; adding 3.4 million from end-2023. Second-placed Showmax will have 4.40 million paying subscribers by 2029; nearly 3 million more than 2023.
