Switching between streaming platforms is more prevalent now than ever before. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve cancelled my Disney+ subscription, reactivated it, and then cancelled it again. Wash, rinse, repeat. This is true for millions of subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) users around the globe, 14% of users to be precise, according to Ampere research. The breakdown of boomerang churners (those who re-subscribe within 2 months) is as follows:
| Netflix | 23% |
|---|---|
| HBO Max | 15% |
| Paramount+ | 15% |
| Disney+ | 11% |
| Hulu | 11% |
| Apple TV+ | 10% |
Also interesting is the increasing appetite for advertising-based video on demand (AVoD) from users in exchange for free or reduced subscription charges. This will of course be good news for any streaming platform wishing to take advantage of new revenue streams and leverage the enormous monetization opportunities available to them via CTV advertising.
From Ad-supported tiers to password sharing protection, SVoD platforms need to stay competitive and profitable. Global content production and expansion offer lucrative opportunities, so we analyzed some of the emerging markets that SVoD platforms will head for / expand their reach in the next few years: India and Sub-Saharan Africa (for the purposes of this article we have included Nigeria, Kenya & South Africa).
SVoD Growth Predictions in Emerging Markets
India
| Projected revenue by end of 2023: US$1.70bn Expected number of users by 2027: 108.40m Anticipated user penetration: 5.6% in 2023 / 7.4% by 2027 |
Sub-Saharan Africa – South Africa
| Projected revenue by end of 2023: US$220m Expected number of users by 2027: 9.83m Anticipated user penetration: 12.4% in 2023 / 15.3% by 2027 |
Sub-Saharan Africa – Kenya
| Projected revenue by end of 2023: US$51.47m Expected number of users by 2027: 4.53m Anticipated user penetration: 5.5% in 2023 / 7.2% by 2027 |
Sub-Saharan Africa – Nigeria
| Projected revenue by end of 2023: US$0.78bn Expected number of users by 2027: 53.40m Anticipated user penetration: 17.3% in 2023 / 21.8% by 2027 |
Based on the above data from Statista, Nigeria looks to be the market tipped for the most growth with a projected 4.5% increase in user penetration between 2023 and 2027. While Netflix is present in each of the above locations, here is a breakdown of which SVoD platforms are yet to expand into these growing markets:
| Disney+ | Not yet available in Nigeria, Kenya. |
|---|---|
| Paramount+ | Not yet available in India, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa. Planning to launch in India via Viacom18 later in 2023. |
| Apple TV+ | Not available in Nigeria, Kenya. |
If we delve deeper and look at the most popular devices in these markets, we see some interesting results. For example, In India where 75% of SVoD content is consumed on smartphones, out of the top 5 selling smartphones in Q4 2022, 4 of them do not have 5G capabilities. This would be an important consideration for SVoD platforms such as Paramount+ when expanding into India later this year. Knowledge of connectivity factors like highest cellular generation may be key in understanding latency / playback errors.
Smartphone usage for SvoD content consumption is also high across Sub-Saharan African countries; here are some of the key device capabilities of popular smartphones across several African countries that will be important for SVoD platforms expanding there:
| India | Nigeria | Kenya | Africa |
| Apple iPhone 13 S/Galaxy M13 Xiaomi Redmi A1 Realme C35 |
Samsung A23 Tecno Camon 19 Oppo A17 Nokia G20 |
S/Galaxy A03 Tecno Spark 8 Oppo A16K Huawei Nova Y60 |
S/Galaxy A33 5G S/Galaxy A23 Huawei Nova Y61 Oppo A57s |
Top Smartphones in India
Apple iPhone 13 (A2633 model)
- Display: 1170 x 2532
- Year released: 2021
- OS name: iOS
- OS version: 15
- CPU maximum frequency: 3.23 GHz
- Chipset name: A15 Bionic
- CPU name: Avalanche & Blizzard
- GPU name: A15 Bionic GPU (4 Clusters)
- Total RAM: 4 GB
- Max Storage: 128/256/512 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 5G
- Hardware classification: Premium
Samsung Galaxy M13 (SM-M135FU/DS)
- Display: 1080 x 2408
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2 GHz + 2 GHz
- Chipset name: Exynos 850
- CPU name: Cortex-A55 & Cortex-A55
- GPU name: Mali-G52
- Total RAM: 4 GB
- Max Storage: 64/128 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: False
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Xiaomi Redmi A1 (220733SG model)
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio A22
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8300
- Total RAM: 2 GB
- Max Storage: 32 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Realme C35 (RMX3513 model)
- Display: 1080 x 2408
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 11
- CPU maximum frequency: 2 GHz
- Chipset name: ums9230 nico
- CPU name: Unisoc T616
- GPU name: Mali-G57
- Total RAM: 4/6 GB
- Max Storage: 64/128 GBH.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Top Smartphones in Nigeria
Samsung A23 (SM-A235F model)
- Display: 1080 x 2408
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.4 GHz + 1.9 GHz
- Chipset name: Snapdragon 680 4G
- CPU name: Kryo 265 Gold & Kryo 265 Silver
- GPU name: Adreno 610
- Total RAM: 4/6/8 GB
- Max Storage: 64/128 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Tecno Camon 19 Pro
- Display: 1080 x 2460
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency:
- Chipset name: 2 GHz + 2 GHz
- CPU name: Cortex-A76 & Cortex-A55
- GPU name: Mali-G57 MC2
- Total RAM: 8GB
- Max Storage: 128/256 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Oppo A17
- Display: 720 x 1612
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.3 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio G35
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 4GB
- Max Storage: 64GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Nokia G20
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2021
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 11
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.3 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio G35
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 4GB
- Max Storage: 64/128 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Top Smartphones in Kenya
Samsung Galaxy A03
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2021
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 11
- CPU maximum frequency: 2 GHz + 1.82 GHz
- Chipset name: ums9230
- CPU name: Cortex-A75 & Cortex-A55
- GPU name: Mali-G57 MP1
- Total RAM: 3 / 4 GB
- Max Storage: 32/64/128 GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Tecno Spark 8
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2021
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 11
- CPU maximum frequency:
- Chipset name:
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 2GB
- Max Storage: 64GB
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Oppo A16K
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2021
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 11
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.3 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio G35
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 3GB
- Max Storage: 32/64 B
- H.265 support in OS: True
- VP9 support in OS: True
- H. 264 support in OS: True
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Huawei Nova Y60
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2021
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 10
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.3 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio P35
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: POwerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 4GB
- Max Storage: 64GB
- H.265 support in OS: Yes
- VP9 support in OS: Yes
- H. 264 support in OS: Yes
- 64 bit architecture: Yes
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Top Smartphones in South Africa
Samsung Galaxy A33 5G
- Display: 1080 x 2400
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.4 GHz + 2 GHz
- Chipset name: Exynos 1280
- CPU name: Cortex-A78 & Cortex-A55
- GPU name: Mali-G68 MP4
- Total RAM: 6GB
- Max Storage: 128/256 GB
- H.265 support in OS: Yes
- VP9 support in OS: Yes
- H. 264 support in OS: Yes
- 64 bit architecture: False
- Highest cellular generation: 5G
- Hardware classification: High-tier
Samsung Galaxy A23
- Display: 1080 x 2408
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.4 GHz + 1.9 GHz
- Chipset name: Snapdragon 680 4G
- CPU name: Kryo 265 Gold & Kryo 265 Silver
- GPU name: Adreno 610
- Total RAM: 4/6/8 GB
- Max Storage: 64/128 GB
- H.265 support in OS: Yes
- VP9 support in OS: Yes
- H. 264 support in OS: Yes
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Huawei Nova Y61
- Display: 720 x 1600
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.2 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio P35
- CPU name: Cortex-A73
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 4/6 GB
- Max Storage: 64GB
- H.265 support in OS: Yes
- VP9 support in OS: Yes
- H. 264 support in OS: Yes
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Oppo A57s
- Display: 720 x 1612
- Year released: 2022
- OS name: Android
- OS version: 12
- CPU maximum frequency: 2.3 GHz
- Chipset name: Helio G35
- CPU name: Cortex-A53
- GPU name: PowerVR GE8320
- Total RAM: 4/6 GB
- Max Storage: 64/128 GB
- H.265 support in OS: Yes
- VP9 support in OS: Yes
- H. 264 support in OS: Yes
- 64 bit architecture: True
- Highest cellular generation: 4G
- Hardware classification: Mid-tier
Based on growth predictions for the next four years, India and Sub-Saharan Africa are lucrative opportunities for SVoD platforms. As many of these markets are not 5G ready, careful consideration must be made to ensure that device capabilities are known and QoS/QoE will not be compromised.