Ahead of the upcoming 6th Edition of the OTT Streaming Summit – Africa 2025, coming up on the 18 – 19 February 2025 at The Capital 15 On Orange, Cape Town, South Africa, BMA spoke to Lungile Binza, the Chief Digital Officer at the SABC on insights into the evolving content streaming space in Africa, and the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of the industry.
Lungile’s perspective highlights the central role of OTT platforms in modern broadcasting strategies and sheds light on the path forward for content distribution, monetisation, and infrastructure development on the continent.
Below is an extra of the conversation:
BMA: What makes you agree to participate in the upcoming OTT Streaming Industry Summit – Africa?
Lungile: As part of our digital strategy, the OTT Platforms is at the centre of it. We view OTTs as the future, if not already the present, of Broadcasting, and we are always keen to be close to any developments in this space. So, our interest in participating is driven largely by that perspective.
BMA: Please tell us how you see the content streaming space in Africa evolving vis-a-vis content distribution and monetisation within the African market conditions.
Lungile: There’s still a lot of work in Africa that needs to be done before the content streaming matures. Data and the price of data are areas that require some attention. Infrastructure improvements, from network availability to network speed, are another factor that needs attention.
From a monetisation perspective, the actual monetisation models that suit the African conditions need clear articulation. In other countries, Freemium works well, SVOD and TVOD work perfectly, and the AVOD model is the best in others. The AVOD model is the one that stands a good chance as long as the Advertising market is big enough.
BMA: What challenges or issues do players in this industry face, and how do you see it resolved and overcome?
Lungile: From my perspective, below are some of the challenges in the OTT space:
Content availability: OTTs are content guzzlers requiring a lot of content. Content pipeline and content strategy are critical.
Network access and speed: Infrastructure still requires huge improvements in Africa to bridge the digital divide.
Data and high data prices: Data prices need to be looked at. Data is the new electricity. You can’t function without it.
Monetisation models clarity: Clearly articulate the monetisation strategy for your platform
Insights and Analytics: The data in your platform is the new oil. Utilise it to your advantage.
BMA: With all said, kindly tell us what you hope fellow participants will take away from this industry summit.
Lungile: A lot of the latest research and trends in this space. Also, through networking, we can learn from others so they don’t repeat any mistakes they might have made.
To find out more about the event, visit the event website here.
