South African rival to Netflix to expand

Naspers, Africa’s biggest company by market value, is planning to expand ShowMax, its video-streaming competitor to Netflix, into three new continents next year while Samsung Electronics has agreed to include the service on its smart TVs, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The company will target more than 15 million customers outside its home market of South Africa, providing content across Europe, North America and Australasia, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. The ShowMax service will provide Afrikaans content in international markets next month and west African shows next year, according to the person.

Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk is overseeing the expansion of ShowMax across Africa and beyond as Netflix targets 200 countries next year.

The move into online streaming is the latest evolution of a South African business that started as a newspaper publisher and is now an investor in emerging-market startups including Tencent and India’s Ibibo.

A ShowMax representative declined to comment. Samsung representatives declined to comment in an email.

Showmax has signed distribution partnerships in South Africa with Samsung and Telkom, the country’s largest fixed-line operator, according to the person. The company is also in partnership talks with Vodacom, the South African unit of Vodafone, and is exploring further expansion in sub-Saharan Africa, said the person.