Africa to add 18 million pay TV subscribers by 2027

Africa to add 18 million pay TV subs

Africa will add 18 million pay TV subscribers between 2021 and 2027 to take the total to 57 million.

Subscriber numbers will climb by 46% over this period, but pay TV revenues will rise by only 35% – indicating that subscribers will pay less. Pay TV revenues will reach $6.46 billion by 2027, up from $4.78 billion on 2021.

Three groups account for 90% of Africa’s pay TV subscribers. Multichoice, through its DStv and GOtv platforms, will continue to lead – with 20.8 million subscribers expected by 2027. StarTimes (18.4 million) and Canal Plus (11.2 million) will follow.

Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, said: “Few new players are expected. Instead, the three protagonists will battle for supremacy – often by cutting prices.”