Market Trends of Africa SVOD Industry
Drama Genre is Expected to Drive the Market
- Drama is the least expensive genre to make movies because special sets, costumes, locations, props, and unique visual effects are only sometimes needed. The definition of a drama is the widest of any genre; anything that occurs, anywhere, at any time, qualifies. Other genres, on the other hand, have higher standards for classification; for example, an action movie needs high-octane action, a horror movie needs scary events, a comedy needs hilarious components, etc.
- African drama is a diverse genre that often reflects the cultural and social issues of the continent. African drama is uniquely positioned in the history of drama, characterized by its innovation and experimental nature. African drama often blends elements of traditional oral narrative with contemporary themes and performance styles. Some of the most well-known African playwrights include Wole Soyinka, Ola Rotimi, Athol Fugard, and Ngugi wa Thiong'o. The genre of African drama includes tragedy, comedy, and historical fiction, and it is often performed in local languages as well as English and French.
- A new era of filmmaking began in the cinema and audiovisual industry when modern, lightweight, and economical digital film equipment first arrived on the continent a few decades ago. Suddenly, young Africans had access to tools for creating audiovisual content. Since digital filmmaking has advanced so much, it is now possible to record a video with cinematic quality on a smartphone. High Fantasy, directed by South African Jenna Bass, is one illustration. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
- According to the National Bureau of Statistics NBS (Nigeria), The arts, leisure, and entertainment sector contributed 0.21 percent of Nigeria's GDP in the second quarter of 2022. This would push the government to establish some policies to increase the number of output films in the region, enabling many SVOD players to enter the market to capture the market share by screening those films on their respective platforms.
- Though television has been witnessing changing strategies of companies' expenditure on advertising, it has been described as the primary medium companies use to market their product to children. This consequently makes television commercial has a significant influence on children. The children tend to trust what the adverts tell them about the product and fail to realize its purpose is to sell it to the consumer. For example, PremiumFree, a free-to-air satellite television, launched in South Africa with 18 channels. It launched with a potpourri of content ranging from sports, movies, telenovelas, and drama series to kids' content, gospel, comedy, and reality programming, increasing the advertisement viewers.
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South Africa is Expected to Hold Significant Share of the Market
- The SVOD market in South Africa has been growing steadily over the past few years, with more and more local and international players entering the market. The most popular SVOD digital original series in South Africa was action/adventure shows, followed by crime dramas and sci-fi/fantasy series. Other South African SVOD market trends include the increasing adoption of mobile streaming and the rise of local content production. In addition to international giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, local players like Showmax and DSTV Now are also gaining popularity.
- South Africa is a country that speaks several languages. Any SVOD provider should supply material in 11 languages to make it available to all its users. However, if it must generate so many versions of its information, it would be preferable to make it available to the broadest possible audience. In the case of Africa, other countries may well be included, as it is rare for a language to be spoken in many areas. If these efforts are successful, the content may be dubbed into more languages and made available to a bigger audience. For example, while cultural distinctions should not be neglected, an African audience is more likely to identify strongly with the hero of an African film.
- Furthermore, there is an international demand for African content: on the one hand, the African diaspora who want to stay connected to their homeland, and on the other, those who have become acquainted with South African films through international film festivals. South African material has an advantage in expansion because English language content can easily cross over to foreign audiences. Localization is critical for South African material to attain its full potential. For example, dubbing a film into African French provides it access to more than 20 nations. In contrast, content in Mid-Atlantic English, which is growing increasingly popular in South Africa due to the numerous foreign productions, can tour the world. This would create an opportunity for the studied market to grow.
- The National Film and Video Foundation supported Films (NFVF) supported two of the 14 films made in South Africa last year. Bakarat (comedy/drama) and SanDance (documentary) were the two films. In addition, the NFVF supported three of the 18 films released via subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platforms in the same year. Such a huge number of films on the SVOD platforms would push people to subscribe to the video-on-demand platforms. Further, The growing middle class and increased disposable income in the country give fresh chances for SVOD companies to reach new clients. The government has also tried to improve internet connection in rural regions, which has increased internet penetration.
- The rising population in the country and the rise in the tech-savvy young age people would create an opportunity for the studied market to grow. According to Statistics South Africa, South Africa's population will expand to around 60.6 million by 2022. There were around 22.12 million persons aged 0 to 19, with 609,000 people aged 80 and over. SVOD (Subscription Video-On-Demand) services have significantly impacted young people, as they offer a convenient, low-cost way to access a wide range of TV shows and movies. Young people, in particular, are attracted to SVOD services by the content, but they also appreciate the flexibility of watching shows on their schedule.
