NXT Media Days Africa

In February 2024, Starlink cut off hundreds of customers in South Africa. Although the American brand is not officially active in the country, the Mozambique company Starsat resells the US company's equipment to private individuals. Between 250 and 300 users were affected by this cut-off, justified by Starlink as being an illegal resale and use of its service. For many years now, access to the internet, and more particularly to fixed broadband, has been a major stake for the populations in Sub-Saharan Africa. With less than 10% of the population connected to fixed networks, the various countries in the region are struggling to develop their infrastructures. The development of fixed broadband is driven by a growing demand for digital connectivity such as the access to OTT platforms, or the development of Smart TVs and streaming devices.

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On 10 January 2024, Multichoice announced an agreement with rights holder New World TV, enabling SuperSport to broadcast all AFCON matches. Despite the initial failure in securing the rights, a distribution agreement was finally reached with the Togolese broadcaster. This achievement for the South African media giant comes against a difficult backdrop, with its satellite service DStv recording a decline in subscribers and profits at Q3 2023 in South Africa, marking the first downturn in the company’s most dynamic market. Notably, subscriber numbers fell by 7% between Q1 and Q3 2023. This reversal prompts questions about the sustained success of Multichoice since its inception. Until 2018, Pay TV revenues in South Africa surpassed the combined revenues of all other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Even though the balance of power has shifted since then, South Africa’s Pay TV revenues still account for approximately 70% of the combined revenues of other African countries.

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