Netflix has spent R2.3bn in SA since 2016
On the eve of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s annual investment summit, Netflix has said that it spent more than R2bn on film and TV projects in SA from 2016 to 2022.
The world’s largest streaming service said on Wednesday it had invested $175m in SA, Kenya and Nigeria in the period on content production. Of this, the lion’s share of $125m was for SA productions.
Netflix, which has not commented previously on viewership numbers, country and territory subscriber numbers or production spending and licensing content, said that in 2021 and 2022 it invested $17bn on original content globally. Consulting firm Accenture previously estimated that 5%-8% of Netflix’s production budget came to Africa, translating to $850m$1.36bn. The top of that range is more than a third of MultiChoice’s market cap.
“SA has been at the forefront of Netflix’s investments in the creative industry since 2016 when we first began our journey in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Shola Sanni, director, public policy for Sub-Saharan Africa at Netflix.
CREATIVE INDUSTRY
Speaking at the release of the company’s economic report, Sanni said that “expanding our business here is good for Netflix, but also good for the creative industry and good for the wider economy in SA.
“We believed that SA talent, creators and storytellers had what it takes to compete on the global stage and the investments that Netflix has put into SA and the positive social and economic ripple effects they have had show us that the possibilities are massive.”
Netflix’s report appears to have been timed to coincide with the fifth SA Investment Conference later this week. In the 2022 edition, the entertainment giant pledged R929m for investment up to 2023.
Competition for SA eyeballs has been increasing over the past decade. An area traditionally
SA TALENT, CREATORS AND STORYTELLERS HAD WHAT IT TAKES TO COMPETE ON THE GLOBAL STAGE
dominated by MultiChoice has experienced rising investment from international players, using the power of the internet to try to appeal to local audiences.
LOCAL CONTENT
Netflix’s approach of creating local content in a number of countries where it operates has brought it much success in recent years.
Heist, a Spanishlanguage drama series, set viewing records for the platform as global audiences watched it in droves during lockdown. Netflix had similar success with the recent boom in the Koreanlanguage
For rival MultiChoice, the stakes are now higher as Netflix has been using its deep pockets for its own local productions such and
The DStv operator’s local content library is now approaching 73,000 hours, representing 48% of total general entertainment content spend.
Netflix said that its latest SA production, Unseen, had been viewed more than 24-million times in its first week since release.
While video streaming — Netflix’s speciality — is still small in SA and the rest of Africa, the segment is growing.
All of SA’s major television broadcasters now offer online viewing options: eMedia with eVOD; MultiChoice owns DStv Now, Showmax and Showmax Pro; and government-run SABC now streams its television and radio content through SABC Plus.
Technology Correspondent