(Edited Press Release)
After establishing dominance as a Subscription Video on Demand (SVoD) service provider in the Asian as well as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions, iflix is set to extend is coverage to sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The leader in providing SVoD service for emerging markets has formally announced the establishment of iflix Africa, which is planned to roll out over the second and third quarter of 2017. To be headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, iflix Africa will bring the brand’s content to over 500 million potential subscribers in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
Currently, iflix has a foothold in 18 markets across Asia and MENA: Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, the Maldives, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Egypt, and Sudan.
As of May 2017, or two years after the service was initially launched simultaneously in Malaysia and the Philippines, iflix has already generated more than 5 million subscribers.
Targeting a promising market
iflix Africa is expected to further boost the global scale of the service as it intends to capitalize on SSA’s large youth population, rapidly growing internet and smartphone penetration rate, and an already huge appetite for digital content and entertainment. It is projected that by 2020, Africa will have 720 million smartphone regions, making it the fastest-growing mobile market across the globe.
Iflix will bring its vast range of content—comprising of thousands of TV shows, movies, and other specials—to hundreds of millions of digital consumers across the African region. Moreover, upon its commercial launch, iflix Africa will offer an extensive collection of highly acclaimed African shows and movies as well as introduce exclusive African content series on top of the best of Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood, and other regional and local programming.
Excitement over opportunities
“The establishment of iflix Africa represents an incredibly exciting step in iflix’s growth story,” said iflix co-founder and CEO Mark Britt. “As Africa transitions from the margins to the mainstream of the global economy, there is a unique, ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to fundamentally shift the way a billion people consume and enjoy content.”
iflix Africa Head Andre de Wet could not contain his excitement in introducing the first-of-its-king SVoD service in the sub-Saharan region. “We are passionately focused on providing the broadest selection of premium content at a price everyone can afford,” he said. “We can’t wait to tackle both the enormous opportunities and challenges ahead, in serving this incredibly diverse and exciting region.”