South Africa has in recent years seen growth in the number of streaming services that have entered the market, including US players Netflix and Amazon Prime, as well as Hong Kong’s Viu, which has differentiated itself through local content. MultiChoice has also been investing heavily in the space and is home to three services — DStv, Showmax and Showmax Pro.
While video streaming is small in South Africa and the rest of Africa, the segment is growing. All the country’s big television broadcasters now offer online viewing options. EMedia has eVOD and the government-run SABC now streams its television and radio content through SABC Plus.
EVOD reached its latest milestone in the third quarter of 2025, “marking a significant milestone in its growth journey”.
EMedia established the service in October 2021 through a partnership with MTN, which offered special bundles to entice new sign-ups at the time. Since then the platform has recorded a 22% year-on-year increase in registrations, “reflecting continued audience adoption and engagement”.
EMedia, worth R1.4bn on the JSE, owns television and radio broadcasting businesses such as eNCA, OpenView and Yfm, with production studios.
The eVOD platform has more than 9,000 hours of content, with watch time increasing 56% in 2025 compared with 2024, “highlighting growing consumption across its content library”.
The company plans to launch five new original productions in 2026 to build on this momentum.
Over the past year, the platform has continued to evolve, introducing key features such as offline downloads and expanding accessibility through availability on Android and Hisense smart TVs.
Thapelo Ramatsui, brand manager for eVOD & local content at e.tv, said, “This milestone underscores eVOD’s long-standing commitment to providing authentic, relevant entertainment to South African audiences at no cost.”
“Over the past year, the platform has continued to evolve, introducing key features such as offline downloads and expanding accessibility through availability on Android and Hisense smart TVs.”
In the six months to end-September, the group reported an increase in other revenue, which includes eVOD, online and website sales, from R41.6m to R48.2m, a 16% jump year on year.
Yet, the segment is still the smallest component of group revenue, accounting for just 3.4% of the pie.
The eVOD growth comes while rivals are grappling with their own growth prospects.
MultiChoice’s new owner Canal+ is mulling the future of the unprofitable Showmax platform, which has to recover more than R3bn ploughed into it.
In October, Business Day reported SABC’s streaming platform had tripled its user base in less than a year to 1.5-million, growing well ahead of guidance, which had pegged 1-million users by 2027/28.
The state-owned company is also seeking to capitalise on its digital presence across channels such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube as part of a broader push to grow revenue from online sources.
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