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Streamers Take Center Stage as Second JBX Content Market Turns Toward Future of African Screen Industries
Amid the shake-up at Prime Video and Canal Plus' failed buyout bid of MultiChoice, streamers will drive the conversation at Joburg's industry confab.
The pressing question of how to pay for content to keep ever-hungry audiences satisfied will be driving many of the key sessions at this week’s JBX market, which kicks off Feb. 28 with a panel focused on the continent’s dynamic streaming landscape, featuring executives from MultiChoice, Canal Plus and Paramount+. The conservation will unfold at a time of tremendous flux for what remains the world’s largest untapped VOD market, with Amazon Prime Video announcing last month it was pausing commissions of new originals from the continent, even as Canal Plus’ failed buyout bid for MultiChoice — in which it owns a greater than 30% stake — raised the prospect of a joint venture between the two media conglomerates that could create an African streaming platform with truly global reach. Meanwhile, more than 20 African broadcasters will be among the 80-plus buyers attending the market, highlighting the lingering muscle of terrestrial and satellite channels that — while struggling to compete with deep-pocketed streaming rivals for top-tier talent — nevertheless have a far greater reach among the continent’s population of more than 1.2 billion.
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