Amazon Prime Cuts Jobs and Stops Making African Shows as Showmax Takes the Lead

In recent news, Africa’s third-largest streaming platform, Amazon Prime Video, is making some changes. They are reducing the number of people working for them and making less local content for areas like sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa. Instead, they want to put more focus on the European market. Even though we don’t know how many people will be affected by this decision, Barry Furlong, who is in charge of Prime’s EMEA division, says it’s about putting effort where it will make the biggest impact and have long-term success.

What does this mean for viewers in Africa? Well, even though Amazon Prime Video will still show the programs they were allowed to, they won’t be accepting any new local content. However, the streaming service will still be available in North Africa, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Let’s take a quick look back. Amazon Prime Video started in Africa in 2016, but it wasn’t until 2020 that they released their first original series from the continent called “Queen Sono.” Since then, they’ve been trying to make deals with the best performers in Africa. However, it seems that the tough competition in the streaming world, especially from Netflix and Showmax, might be making Amazon Prime rethink its strategy.

In 2023, Netflix, which was leading the market, lost some of its audience share, dropping to 35%, while Showmax grew to 40%. This means Showmax became the new leader in the African streaming market. Just to give you an idea, Amazon Prime Video came in third place. Showmax had 1.8 million subscribers in August 2023, while Netflix, which started with 400,000 subscribers in its first two years in Africa, added 1.2 million in the last four years.

But here’s the interesting part. Showmax might be giving Netflix and other streaming services some room to shine with its New Showmax. Both Netflix and Showmax are putting a lot of money into making and buying local content. They’re customizing their services to fit different regional tastes and language needs.

According to reports, in the fiscal year that ended in 2023, Showmax, which focused only on the African market starting December 1, 2023, spent a whopping $1 billion on making and buying content in Africa. They concentrated on strengthening their local content in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

In conclusion, the streaming world in Africa is changing. Amazon Prime Video is taking a step back in some regions, while Showmax is becoming a big player. It’s a race to see who can offer the best shows and movies that people in Africa want to watch. The competition is tough, and the streaming giants are investing a lot of money to be the top choice for viewers. Only time will tell who comes out on top!