Multichoice is looking to spend half its content investment on African-made shows with local actors and producers within the next two years.<\/p>\n
The aim by Africa\u2019s largest pay-TV company could result in more cost savings — given the expense of buying rights to shows in the US and elsewhere — and more viewers on the continent, Chief Executive Officer Calvo Mawela said in an interview.<\/p>\n
The Johannesburg-based company\u2019s streaming service Showmax increased paying subscribers by 68% in the year through March, in part due to the decision to \u201cdouble down\u201d on local content offerings, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaking African content and paying actors and staff in local currencies comes at a fraction of the cost of buying dollar-denominated international content,\u201d said Mawela. Many stories can be redeployed in different African countries and still resonate, adding to savings, he said.<\/p>\n
The MultiChoice production \u201cThe River\u201d — about wealthy businessmen and exploited township people — was made in South Africa and successfully adapted for audiences in countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya, said Mawela.<\/p>\n
Two Portuguese channels have been rolled out in Angola and Mozambique, where the language is spoken, and are proving very popular, according to Mawela.<\/p>\n
Netflix Inc., which has been trying to make inroads in Africa, has also channeled cash into continent-made shows such as \u201cBlood and Water\u201d. The U.S. giant said this year it will invest 929 million rand ($59 million) into the South Africa creatives industry by 2023,<\/p>\n
The company, spun out of e-commerce giant Naspers Ltd. in 2019, has been operating on the continent for 28 years and has almost 22 million customers.<\/p>\n
The group is offering cheaper packages on mobile phones to access a younger, less affluent audience and making deals with other content providers such as Netflix and Amazon.com Inc. to come onto its decoders.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople tend to go onto our decoder and use all the different platforms through us,\u201d said Mawela. The company recently started offering Disney Plus, adding a further revenue stream, he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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