Amazon Prime Video is undergoing a significant restructuring, scaling back its presence in Africa and the Middle East while prioritizing the European market. This move involves reducing local content production and streamlining staffing in the aforementioned regions.
The decision comes on the heels of Amazon's global announcement of layoffs impacting hundreds of employees across its Prime Video and MGM studio teams. While Amazon Prime will still maintain a presence in Africa and the Middle East, it will solely focus on areas deemed to have the "highest impact and long-term success."
This marks a notable shift from Amazon's initial bold ambitions of establishing itself as the leading streaming platform on the African continent. Backed by aggressive hiring and strategic partnerships with local production studios, the platform built dedicated teams in key markets like Nigeria and South Africa. Analysts initially projected a dramatic rise in subscriber base, from 575,000 in 2021 to a projected 1.9 million by 2026.
Despite continued growth in Africa's streaming market, challenges remain evident. Established player IrokoTV saw a stark decline in active users, dropping from 46,000 in December 2022 to a mere 76% of that at the beginning of the year. Additionally, Netflix, despite boasting 1.2 million subscribers, recently lost its market leader position to MultiChoice's Showmax, which now holds the top spot with 1.4 million subscribers.
This dynamic market landscape appears to have influenced Amazon's decision to refocus its efforts. While local content production will see a reduction, already approved shows will still be released. However, new projects in Africa and the Middle East will be put on hold for the foreseeable future.
The restructuring highlights the competitive nature of the global streaming market and the shifting priorities of major players like Amazon. It will be interesting to see how this move impacts the landscape of Africa's burgeoning streaming scene and whether alternative models, such as tech-backed financing and independent content creation, will fill the void left by Amazon's strategic retreat.
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