Last week's announcement of Showmax's imminent closure was a blow to the African entertainment ecosystem. Multichoice failed to find a profitable business model for its streaming platform, and Canal+ Africa's new management, faced with declining traditional pay-TV subscriber numbers, decided to limit its losses.
In this difficult context, analyzing content preferences in sub-Saharan Africa is essential to better understand the diversity of markets in the region.
In January 2026, Dataxis conducted an in-depth study of 3,600 people in South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya to better understand African audiences' entertainment preferences.
While the United States still provides most of the content consumed in Africa, with up to 69% of South Africans consuming North American content very often, domestic productions remain the second most consumed type of content.
In South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, between 53% and 59% of viewers say they consume local content very often. British content ranks third in each of the three countries studied.
Of particular note is the moderate appeal of content from other African countries. In South Africa, only 11% of the audience watches Nigerian content very often, while in Nigeria and Kenya, 12% and 18% of local viewers, respectively, watch South African content very often.
This consistently places their productions below content from Europe, Japan, South Korea, and India.
There is one exception, however: one-third of Kenyans surveyed consume Nigerian content very often, highlighting Nollywood's strong presence in this specific market. This raises questions about the ability of locally produced African content to reach audiences beyond the borders of its country of origin. These results once again underscore the diversity of African audiences. In summary, African viewers place great importance on national content, but its regional distribution remains low. Bridging this gap will be essential for local productions to expand their audience and build a sustainable pan-African entertainment ecosystem.