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STREAMING: NETFLIX, SHOWMAX IN SA SHOWS GROWTH IN FEATURE LENGTH PRODUCTIONS

Original content seems to help drive a new digital migration.

Netflix has become a powerful influencer shaping content that would have traditionally been consumed on TV, but it’s the amount of feature length productions planned to be released this year that really shows how much of an impact it has on the way people are migrating to streaming services.

According to Variety, the American entertainment authority, the 2017 box office was down by 3.1%. Considering last year saw the release of mega blockbusters like Star Wars, the numbers are worrying.

Although the drop can’t be attributed to streaming services (yet), considering that Netflix plans to release around 80 original feature films this year, it’s save to say they have the potential to keep feet away from the cinema and on the couch.

In SA, Netflix tripled its subscribers near the end of 2017. These subscribers had first access to films like Will Smith’s Bright. Set in an alternate present-day, this action-thriller directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad, End of Watch, writer of Training Day), follows two cops from very different backgrounds (Ward, a human played by Smith, and Jakoby, an orc played by Joel Edgerton), who embark on a routine patrol night that will ultimately alter the future as their world knows it.

In three days, the film racked up 11 million views, and has been critically lauded as one of Netflix’s best feature length releases to date.

Will Smith is not the first A-lister to work on Netflix original content. Other actors include Adam Sandler. Last year Netflix also released their critically acclaimed film Okja, a message-rich film exploring the food industry, mass production and consumerism that showed that Netflix has the ability to compete with major studios when it comes to gripping narratives.

Factor in that you can stream Netflix in UltraHD on a smart TV and access it through nearly any smart device Netflix becomes an engaging experience that seems to have grown on new markets like South Africa.

The same can be said about Naspers’s Showmax. While it competes with Netflix, it offers a different experience entirely.

For local audiences, Showmax delivers local content pulled from a variety of Multichoice channels like kykNET and Mzansi Magic, as well as local films and international must-watch shows.

Showmax has also played an important part in the arts, streaming short films from the annual Silwerskermfees. It offers non-DStv subscribers a taste of its pay channels with a lower monetary commitment.

Showmax, like Netflix, are tight-lipped when it comes to figures pertaining to the service – but head of communications at Showmax, Richard Boorman, says there has been growth.

“What I can say ... is that our overall subscriber base is now roughly 10 times larger than a year ago and that we’re streaming billions of minutes of video on an annualised basis.”

Last year Showmax also dipped into the waters of original content – and it seems as though the dive paid off.

“Tali’s Wedding Diary (our first Showmax original) was our most successful show ever on its first day, with more than double the number of views of the next most popular series on the first day on the site,” says Boorman.

“To put it into a little more perspective, Tali had more than four times the number of viewers on its first day than Game of Thrones S7, when we added that to Showmax. Why is this important? We think it’s strong evidence that following a hyperlocal strategy [local partnership, payments and content] can work, and shows that it’s possible to compete on an equal footing with highly accomplished global competitors.”

It means that except for content pulled from local TV, Showmax can offer South African and African content to the entire world.

Boorman says that their aim is to release a few more original shows this year.

Showmax viewers are split into

equal thirds according to Boorman, with 1/3 accessing content through smartphones or tablets, 1/3 watching on desktop computers or laptops and 1/3 accessing shows and films via smart TVs.

Netflix and Showmax are not concerned about competition, both are leading the charge to convert people to online programming.

“With respect to new services launching in SA, the more the merrier. One of our big challenges has been educating consumers about what is internet TV, why should they want it, and how do they get it. It’s great if there are other services out there doing some of the heavy lifting,” adds Boorman.

But the next step is offering data at competitive prices to really see how streaming services will fare in SA against free-to-air and pay-TV, as well as content from the SABC.

But if you want to dabble in online bliss, here are some top picks from Netflix and Showmax ...