Africa’s leading entertainment company, Multichoice has disclosed its plans to focus more attention on content produced in Africa in the coming year. The company further revealed that it will be allocating 50% of its total general entertainment spend on the African continent, starting from 2024.
The company also seeks to select some local content, coupled with sporting events such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and the FIFA World Cup to drive its growth in streaming services.
Multichoice revealed that at the end of its financial results which ended in March 2022, the linear pay tax subscribers base increased by 0.9 million to reach 21.8 million households, comprising 9 million in South Africa and 12.8 million in the rest of Africa, which is led by Nigeria.
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According to Multichoice Chief Executive officer, Calvin Mawela, he has this to say “As a platform of choice, our group will look to further expand our entertainment ecosystem by identifying growth opportunities that leverage our scale and local capabilities. We will continue to strive to be a trusted partner for our customers’ ever-evolving needs, enriching their lives by delivering entertainment and relevant consumer services underpinned by technology.”
“The group will continue to focus on and drive the penetration of its video entertainment services across the African continent, offering customers an array of unique and rich media content conveniently and cost-effectively. More specifically, the year ahead will see the group increasing its investment in local content, targeting an allocation of 50% of total general entertainment spend by FY24,” he added.
The company further revealed that the rest of Africa’s business greatly benefited from the reality TV show (Big Brother Naija) and Live sporting events.
This is a step taken in the right direction by Multichoice, with the company’s operation in 50 countries across Africa, it is ideal that more African content is magnified, with such content committed to telling African stories.
There is a large percentage of negative perceptions about the African region, which needs to be addressed. With more rich African content circulated by Multichoice, it will no doubt change these weird perceptions about the continent, which will change the narrative of people to begin to see Africa in a positive light.
Africa is uniquely blessed with rich culture and it is ideal that Multichoice invests significantly in local content with the commitment to telling African stories. This can also increase the number of tourist visitors to the African region to behold the beautiful culture, tradition and lifestyle.
Truth is, the African continent is richly blessed and as a leading credible source of the African narrative, Multichoice has no doubt been doing exceptionally well in not only showcasing and advancing filmmaking in Africa, but in also showcasing African talent on the global stage.
No doubt the African continent is taking its place in the world, by asserting its right to be heard and represented through their rich entertainment content. This new African presence is finding expression in numerous fields, such as creative arts, reality tv shows, soap operas, etc.