According to the report, Netflix will be the market leader in the region, with 6.41m subscribers by 2027.
Africa will have 13.64m paying SVOD subscriptions by 2027, up from 4.90m at end of last year, according to the Africa VOD Forecasts report by Digital TV Research.
The increasing subscriber numbers will see an increasing penetration of SVOD households, though the figure will still remain low in comparison to more mature markets like Europe. Some 6.6% of TV households will pay for at least one subscription by 2027 – up from 3.9% at end-2021.
Netflix will remain the SVOD market leader, with 6.41m subscribers by 2027 – or 48% of the region’s total. Given its limited rollout, Disney+ will only have 1m subscriptions by 2027. Amazon will be second, rapidly increasing its current total of 579,000 to 2.63m as a result of expansions to Nigeria and South Africa in 2023.
Disney, which recently overtook Netflix, will be slow to expand Disney+ into Africa and hit 1.03m subscriptions by 2027.
Commenting on the findings of the report, 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 standalone platform in Africa.”
Showmax will be the third-largest player with 2.07m – up from 867,000 in 2021 – while the ‘others category’ will grow from 698,000 to 1.31m.
