Research from Dataxis sheds light on the steady expansion of the pay-TV market in Africa. Following data publication for the second quarter of 2017, the total number of pay-tv subscribers reached approximately 23.7 million.
This represents a quarter on quarter growth of +2 per cent, and a year on year growth of +18 per cent, compared to the second quarter of 2016.
Among the subscribers, 70 per cent receive television through satellite. DTH is confirmed as the main mode for TV reception across the African continent, followed by DTT access with 24 per cent of the market share. On the other hand, DTT is still being implemented and developed in several important African countries and Dataxis predicts that this will allow DTT operators to gain new customers in the years to come.
Finally, the market remains highly concentrated, with Naspers dominating both in terms of subscribers and revenues. However, the arrival of Kwesé, a subsidiary of Econet Media, is expected to increase competition in the African market.