As the African audience continues to shift from the small screen to the internet, and streaming services compete for who gets the most eyeballs, MultiChoice is looking to expand it entertainment offerings via its streaming platforms.
In their second media showcase this year, the African-based Pay-tv giant outlined what the consumers are to expect in the next 6 months.
MultiChoice Group CEO General Entertainment and Connected Video, Yolisa Phahle, said the company is increasingly creating content that is customized for Africa.
“Our streaming products are developed specifically for our African market. We will continue to differentiate what we do by customizing our products and services for Africa,” Phahle said.
Projections made by Digital TV Research, a London-based business intelligence company, indicate that the number of subscription video-on-demand users in Africa will top 5 million by the end of 2021, and triple to 15 million by 2026.
The same projections place Netflix, which launched in Africa in 2016 and continues to eat into the African market share, ahead of competitors, with the highest number of subscribers both at the end of 2021 (2.61 million), and by 2026 (5.84 million).
But MultiChoice which has been the major player in satellite television for over two decades launched its video on demand platform in 2015 and set out to follow a local content model. It’s this focus on African stories supplemented with significant investment in local productions in recent years, that the company hopes will give it an edge over other international players.
Coming up in the next few months, Phahle revealed, is ‘The Wife’, the very first Showmax telenovela, based on Dudu Busani Dube’s best-selling novels. The telenovela is based on a story of a journalist who falls in love with a taxi driver, not knowing he’s behind the cash in transit heists she’s investigating.
“We also have two co-productions with Canal Plus – ‘Blood Sums’, an epic fantasy based on Africa’s precolonial mythology, Season 2 of ‘Crime and Justice’ a Kenyan procedural, and ‘Ghana Joloff’ featuring Nigerian comedian, Basketmouth,” she added.
The remaining part of the year will also launch Season 2 of ‘Black Tax’, a comedy co-produced with Comedy Central, plus 3 post-apocalyptic films from Glasshouse Productions. Viewers are to also expect Season 2 of ‘The Real Housewives of Durban’ and the debut Season of ‘The Real Housewives of Lagos’ before 2021 closes.
Last year, the company launched an internet-only streaming service, making it possible for DStv subscribers to access content without necessarily needing the box. They also introduced Shomax Pro that gave sports lovers the chance to stay hooked onto the sporting action wherever they are.
Phahle said 4 out of 5 top titles on Showmax last year were locally produced. On DStv streaming, 7 out of the top 10 programs were locally produced exclusively for DStv.
This year, the company has already launched 9 Showmax originals on top of opening Big Brother Naija to the UK audience. The platform also live streamed the Euro 2020 and Tokyo Olympic games.
“We continue to focus on growing the local industry. We have seen time and time again that when we get it right, our viewers love it,” Phahle said.
For the Ugandan market, Hassan Saleh, the Managing Director for MultiChoice Uganda, referenced productions like ‘Sanyu’ which is now in its Second season as well as ‘Prestige’ both of which have enjoyed good reception.
In July, Maisha Magic Movies, a channel on which feature films from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania will sit, was launched.
“Since the launch of Pearl Magic Prime channel this year, we have seen an increasing quality of the content, and credit goes to the Uganda film industry. This has also showed that the class and quality of Ugandan content is in the league of top African content,” he said.
He also hinted on the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), a program under the Group’s corporate social investment, which trains young filmmakers in the business of film, directing and scriptwriting. Under the 2022 cohort, Uganda sent 4 filmmakers to the program.
A survey conducted to assess the impact of the program since its launch in 2019 discovered that 92 percent of the alumni are economically active. Some have started their independent productions while others are working on Showmax and Mnet productions.
“Soon after my graduation, Season 2 of Sanyu was starting and I was called to be part of it. It was a great opportunity for me, because I was looking for that sweet spot where I could show off what I had learnt,” said Isiko Abubaker, an alumnus of the MTF, who is currently doing post-production for ‘Sanyu’.
Richard Mulindwa, writer director who is behind productions like ‘What If’, ‘Mistakes Girls Do’ and ‘Freedom 94 Terror’ has been directing since 2006. At the showcase, he said the investment that MultiChoice has made in the local film industry in addition to availing a platform where Ugandan films can now sit, has had positive impact on filmmaking.
“We are now better compared to where we were. We have been persistent. Back then, we didn’t have competition, but the creation of the Uganda Film Festival brought about competition. The festival set standards for quality films and compelling stories,” Mulindwa said.
Hosted by radio and TV personality, Derrick Dasha, Friday’s MultiChoice Uganda media showcase featured entertainment from Michael Kitanda, Kenneth Mugabi and Band Kemba.
