By Irene Gaitirira
Published June 19, 2023
A South African-based pan-African movie entertainment company has reported that its Rest of Africa business has returned to profitability.
Consequently the company known as Multichoice says it is expanding its consumer services ecosystem.
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“With the FIFA World Cup and popular local content such as Big Brother Naija, the Rest of Africa business witnessed substantial growth, adding 1.4 million 90-day active subscribers and reaching over 14 million households across the continent,” Multichoice says. “Driven by its commitment to local storytelling, the broader MultiChoice Group invested in local content, empowering African talent and fostering a thriving creative industry. In its financial year 2023, local content accounted for 50% of the Group’s total general entertainment spend, surpassing this target one year earlier than expected. The group’s local content library now boasts over 76,000 hours, with local content production delivering a 9% year-on-year increase to 6,587 hours.”
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Nigeria may have liquidity challenges, but MultiChoice says it not only repatriated cash from the West African country to South Africa throughout the year under review but also launched five additional local channels in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Ghana while its popular shows continued to achieve record viewership across various platforms.
“As Africa’s unrivalled champion in sports entertainment, MultiChoice Africa delivered the best action from across the globe to its fans through SuperSport. The company’s highlights included the live broadcast of all 64 FIFA World Cup matches, accompanied by local language commentary in 11 languages across eight markets,” Multichoice says.
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MultiChoice says its partnership with Comcast’s NBC Universal and Sky to drive Showmax’s market leadership in streaming across Africa will ‘ensure customers have access to a more diverse range of local and international content, supported by Peacock’s world-class, scalable platform’.
MultiChoice, which in May 2023 announced a joint venture called Moment which will be offering expanded payment infrastructure across Africa, says the venture will ‘transform the African payments landscape by making digital payments more accessible and reliable for domestic, cross-border and global payments’.
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“With the investments made over the past year, we are on track to transform from a traditional pay-TV platform to a broader ecosystem underpinned by technology,” says says Fhulufhelo Badugela, Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Africa. “By continuing to invest in African stories, MultiChoice Africa is committed to cementing its position as a platform for local storytellers, celebrating and sharing the rich heritage and cultural tapestry of the continent with the world. As we navigate this ever-evolving industry, we stand strong, ready to deliver compelling African content that captures the hearts and minds of audiences across the continent. We are excited about our prospects and remain dedicated to making significant strides toward a profitable future as Africa’s most loved storyteller.”
