'Showcasing an African aesthetic'
Big opportunity
Africa represents a "growing" market," says Murray. His firm projects that Internet-delivered TV and video revenues in sub-Saharan Africa will top $1 billion by 2024 (up from $223 million in 2018), with almost 10 million subscribers by 2023 (up from 1.56 million in 2017). The market remains largely untapped because of the "low penetration of good quality content services," says Papavassilopoulos. "Although there's a global demand for Hollywood content, people always want to watch local stars and local product," Murray adds. "You have to refresh your content on a regular basis to keep subscribers and attract new subscribers." Queen Sono, shot in 37 locations, follows the eponymous secret agent as she devotes herself to protecting Africa after her mother's assassination.Barriers to overcome
But offering appealing content only goes so far -- the "real battleground" is how to reach the customer, says Papavassilopoulos, who notes that only around 40 percent of households in sub-Saharan Africa have a TV. One obstacle for the streaming services is the low broadband penetration in Africa, which averaged just 25 percent in 2018, according to the World Bank. A related challenge is the relatively high cost of mobile data, says Murray. Data is less affordable in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere in the world, costing an average 6.8 percent of monthly income, according to the GSMA, which represents mobile operators worldwide. In high-income countries, data averages just 0.5 percent of monthly income. To help ease data costs, Netflix has introduced a mobile tool that allows users to control their data consumption and reduce usage by downloading content for offline viewing. It is also developing local partnerships to make digital payments easier in countries where they are unusual; customers with South African telecommunications providers Telkom and Vodacom can add their subscription to existing bills. Papavassilopoulos says Netflix could at some point reduce subscription fees and introduce mobile-only plans -- which it has done in India -- making the service more affordable and suitable for countries in sub-Saharan Africa where mobile is effectively the only infrastructure available for viewing.The competition
Netflix needs to stand out against its rivals in the area. Its African competitors include South Africa's Showmax, which offers easy digital payments through a local partner and package deals with a domestic satellite service that can save customers money. Nigerian IrokoTV has branded kiosks where viewers can download movies to their phones to watch later, saving on data costs, and employs local salespeople who can reach customers in a way Netflix does not.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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