Amazon Prime Video is expected to see an increase in both usage and subscribers beginning next year after Amazon announced that it will formally open in South Africa in 2024.
When Amazon goes live in 2024, it will fuel sampling, use, subscriptions and uptake of Amazon Prime Video in South Africa, where Amazon has been building office and warehouse space.
Amazon’s streaming service is battling the likes of MultiChoice’s Showmax, which will relaunch as a retooled streamer within months in partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Britain’s Sky, Netflix SA and Disney+.
To coincide with the launch of Amazon, Amazon Studios has been ramping up local content TV production, commissioning a flurry of new shows to make Amazon Prime Video as sticky for consumers as the shopping portal, and vice versa, with viewers, pushed to shop online and shoppers pushed to watch online.
In a statement, Robert Koen, general manager of sub-Saharan Africa for Amazon, said, “We look forward to launching amazon.co.za in South Africa, providing local sellers, brand owners and entrepreneurs – small and large – the opportunity to grow their business with Amazon, and delivering great value and a convenient shopping experience for customers across South Africa”.
