African content ready for a ‘global moment’: MultiChoice at MIP Africa

“There is a strong possibility that the African film industry is having its own global moment.” It’s an optimistic outlook that Nomsa Philiso, general manager of entertainment at African pay-TV giant MultiChoice Group, owner of African streamer Showmax, shared Monday in her opening speech at MIP Africa. “We’ve seen this happen with Afrobeats, Amapiano and African music as a whole.”

She also said that more African TV series and films are being broadcast globally than ever before, pointing to what the company calls a “series of breakthroughs in African content in the past year,” according to highlights of her speech obtained by Hollywood ReporterThese include plays such as the university drama Wyfiecrime series ReykaAND Shaka and Lembean epic tale of an iconic African king.

In addition, the 2023 Cannes Film Festival will screen a record number of African films, Rise: The Story of Siya Kolisi won the Audience Award at the Tribeca Film Festival last year.

MultiChoice brings African stories to the world through its sales arm MultiChoice Studios and has partnered with distributors including Abacus, AMC, Fremantle, StudioCanal and The Exchange, which represents the opening film of MultiChoice’s MIP Africa Repair.

After Reyka opened the Monte Carlo Television Festival and earned international Emmy nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Actress in 2022, Fremantle has sold the first season to more than 150 territories, including BritBox in North America, Channel 4 in the U.K. and HBO in Latin America, Philiso said.

Philiso also cited other examples of success such as The Real Housewives of Durban, which aired on NBCU’s reality channels Hayu, Peacock and Bravo, Real Housewives of Nairobia thriller about a killer-avenger Devil’s Peak which was sold to Tubi for North America and the crime miniseries White liesstarring Natalie Dormer, which has been sold to channels including Sundance Now, Stan in Australia and Channel 4 in the UK

MultiChoice claims to be Africa’s largest content producer, with a presence in 50 of Africa’s 54 countries and telling stories in 45 languages.

African streamer MultiChoice Showmax relaunched in February with a focus on an expanded content offering, including local originals, Hollywood blockbusters and English football, attractive pricing and plans to “change the game” for streaming on the continent. The relaunch follows an early 2023 agreement between MultiChoice and Comcast NBCUniversal’s entertainment division and its European pay-TV unit Sky, in a deal and partnership to “deliver the world’s best content and technology to streaming customers” in sub-Saharan Africa “at a time when Africa is approaching an inflection point in terms of broadband connectivity and affordability”. The Showmax Group has since been 70 percent owned by MultiChoice and 30 percent owned by NBCUniversal.

MultiChoice, for which Vivendi Canal+ has submitted a tender, currently has more than 84,000 hours of local content to showcase on the world stage, Philiso stressed on Monday. “We have been buying content from all the global giants for decades, but increasingly these relationships are becoming mutual as demand for African content grows,” she explained. Our scale and proven track record make us the ideal partner in Africa for anyone who is, like us, excited about diversifying the global content mix.”

Philiso stressed, however, that while international reach is important, MultiChoice’s primary focus remains producing content for its core audience across Africa. “Like everyone else, Africans want to hear their own languages ​​and see themselves reflected in what they watch,” she told MIP Africa. “On Showmax, nine of the top 10 most watched shows since its relaunch in February have been local. It took a huge programme like House of the Dragon “to make an impression.”