Multichoice plans to make 52 local movies the next year

28 June, 2019 - 08:03

Multichoice is planning to produce 52 local movies and 29 local dramas within the next year. It also plans to increase its percentage of total general entertainment spend on local content to 45% by 2020, up from 40% this year. By James de Villiers

Multichoice said its streaming platforms Showmax and DStv doubled users the past year, and are now considerably bigger than Netflix in South Africa.

Multichoice - the owner of DStv, Showmax, Mnet, and Mzansi Magic - plans to produce 52 local movies in the next financial year, and increase its overall local offering.

In financial results published this week Multichoice said it plans to increase its general entertainment spend on local content to 45% by 2022, up from 40% this year.

Aside from the local films, it also plans to produce 29 local dramas within the next 12 months.

Multichoice said its Showmax and DStv Now user numbers had double the past financial year, so that those services combined are now considerably bigger than Netflix in SA - though it did not disclose hard numbers.

DStv Now and Showmax are free services offered to all top-tier DStv subscribers, while Netflix requires paid subscriptions.

Our growth is exceptionally pleasing, especially in the current economic climate, and a clear indication that our strategy is working, Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO, said.

Multichoice said Showmax will likely increase its sports offering in an apparent attempt to differentiate it from Netflix, Netwerk24 reported.

Overall, Multichoice, which listed separately from its parent company Naspers in February, posted a profit of R7 billion on revenue of R50.1 billion.

In South Africa, it saw subscriber growth of 8%, or 500,000, to 7.4 million. Premier subscribers, however, declined by 7%, or 100,000, to 1.5 million.

In the rest of Africa, subscribers grew by 17%, or 1.1 million, to 7.7 million.

This is the first time that subscribers outside of South Africa outnumber those in South Africa.

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