MultiChoice's online streaming platform Showmax is investing in producing its own local content for African audiences as it competes for their attention against Netflix on the continent, a senior executive told Reuters. Its streaming service Showmax, launched in 2015, is available in 46 African countries and also in several Western countries, including Britain and France, which have sizeable African diaspora populations. As the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to spend more time at home, there was an initial increase in viewership for Showmax, Phahle said. Phahle said the company is co-producing programmes with HBO and Cinemax on productions set in Africa to global audiences. "They know that the stories that we are telling from our own backyard will find global audiences," she said of HBO and Cinemax.

Source: The Star April 28, 2021 06:56 UTC