South African streaming showdown

South Africa’s streaming market has exploded in recent years, with residents able to choose from a range of platforms depending on their viewing preferences and budgets.

These services have become popular as Internet access expands in the country and are poaching customers from traditional broadcasters, as they often offer a cheaper alternative and don’t include hefty setup costs.

Multimedia and television journalism lecturer at the Durban University of Technology, Siphumelele Zondi, said expanded access to the Internet in South Africa means more residents are moving to streaming.

This comes at the detriment of the country’s traditional broadcasters and cinema chains.

Zondi’s comments echoed those of Reach Africa sales director Leslie Adams, who said local broadcasters are following the same trend observed by satellite broadcasters in major Western markets.

He said streaming services are “eating some of their lunch“.

This is partly due to the added flexibility of streaming services, which allow users to cancel and resubscribe at their convenience.

“Your interests will evolve and change and it may be very periodic, but now the option is available to you to just turn on and turn off,” said Adams.

South Africans have a slew of paid-for streaming services available, the most affordable of which is eMedia’s Premium eVOD subscription, which costs R29.99 per month.

This gives customers access to various local movies and TV shows and a range of older international movies, allowing them to stream on up to two devices simultaneously.

While YouTube Premium does not offer its own content in South Africa, it offers residents access to user-created content spanning a wide range of topics that customers can watch ad-free.

It costs R71.99 per month and gives customers access to its music streaming service, YouTube Music.

At R79 per month, Amazon Prime Video is somewhat of a bargain. Giving subscribers access to an extensive catalogue of Amazon Original movies and series, various other films and TV shows, and a slew of Bollywood content.

It lets customers stream on up to three devices simultaneously.

Showmax’s Entertainment package is priced at R99 per month and lets customers access international movies and series, including HBO content, as well as locally-produced films and TV shows.

Subscribers can stream on two devices at the same time.

Anime fans can get the Crunchyroll Mega Fan plan for the same price as Showmax Entertainment. However, it exclusively offers anime content.

Apple TV+ has one of the smallest libraries of the services compared as it primarily offers its own original content. It costs R124.99 per month and allows up to six concurrent streams.

Netflix’s Standard plan and Disney+ Premium are priced similarly in South Africa at R159.

Netflix’s catalogue includes a wide range of original content, some of which was produced in South Africa, as well as various old and new international movies and series.

It allows up to two users to stream on the same account simultaneously.

Disney+ offers a higher streaming limit of up to four concurrent streams. Its catalogue includes international movies and series from Marvel, Pixar Star Wars, and National Geographic.

MultiChoice’s DStv Stream service is available in various packages, with prices starting at R99 per month for the Access Plan and running up to R799 per month for the Premium subscription.

Content varies per subscription tier, with higher tiers adding more content and live TV channels. DStv Stream includes local and international live TV, sports, movies, news, and documentaries.

Customers can stream on up to two devices simultaneously. However, one of these must be a mobile stream.

The table below compares nine popular streaming services in South Africa in terms of their content, price, and the number of simultaneous streams allowed.