African pay TV subscriptions reach 23.7m

The total number of pay TV subscribers in Africa reached roughly 23.7 million in the second quarter of 2017, according to Dataxis.

The research firm said that this compares to 20.2 million pay TV subscribers in Q2 2016, representing 18% year-on-year growth. Quarter-on-quarter the number of subscribers was up 2%.

“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,” according to the report.

DTH was found to be the main mode of TV reception across Africa, with some 70% of African pay TV subscribers receiving TV signals through satellite.

DTT came second with 24% market share. However, Dataxis predicted current DTT implementations and developments will allow digital terrestrial operators to grow in the coming years.