MultiChoice invests in African content
April 4, 2022
By Chris Forrester
MultiChoice-owned OTT service Showmax is investing in four East African-produced original films and programming. Initially the output will be shown in Kenya this year.
The new programming includes a feature film, a crime drama series, a high-level political thriller series set in a fictional county, and a thriller series. MultiChoice has not revealed the amount each show is costing.
The investment is seemingly coming as a direct response to Netflix announcing it is investing Rand 900 million (€56.4,) into South African-produced material. That commitment covers four separate productions which will be produced and filmed in South Africa during 2022 and 2023.
Timothy Okwaro, MultiChoice’s channel director for East and Southern Africa, said the Kenyan investment into Showmax originals showed that the commitment “speaks to our localisation strategy and the keen focus on working with local producers, both established and upcoming to ensure we give our viewers what they want”.
Showmax has about 861,000 subscribers throughout Africa. Netflix has some 2.6 million.