The Greatest Threat to Both Streaming and TV in Africa is Complacency

Aug 27, 2025

Africa is not waiting for the world to hand it a future—it is building one. From Lagos to Nairobi, Johannesburg to Accra, audiences are demanding more choice, more relevance, and more immediacy in how they consume content. Television once held this monopoly, serving as the definitive cultural touchstone of the continent. But streaming has arrived, reshaping the narrative, and forcing broadcasters, advertisers, and creators to rethink how video fits into Africa’s digital-first generation.

Yet, amid this promise, a subtle but dangerous enemy lurks: complacency. It is complacency that blinds traditional TV to its waning relevance. It is complacency that tempts streaming platforms to apply cut-and-paste models from the West. And it is complacency that could rob Africa’s creative industries of the opportunity to craft a video ecosystem that is distinctly its own.

If Africa’s video future collapses under the weight of lazy strategies, underinvestment, and unoriginal thinking, it won’t be because the demand wasn’t there. It will be because those in charge of delivering it failed to rise to the moment.

TV: A Legacy Model at the Edge of Decline

Television remains deeply entrenched in Africa. In many households, free-to-air channels are still the primary source of entertainment and information. TV’s appeal lies in its simplicity—no internet bills, no log-ins, no buffering, no endless choice fatigue. Just turn it on, and the content flows.

But this ease is also its greatest liability. A generation of African youth no longer consumes content on someone else’s schedule. Linear broadcasting feels outdated in a world where a 17-year-old in Kampala can stream Nollywood blockbusters on YouTube at midnight, or catch up on Premier League highlights on their phone while commuting.

The complacency of TV broadcasters lies in assuming their reach guarantees relevance. But reach without resonance is fragile. And with advertisers increasingly chasing digital engagement, TV risks being left with volume but little influence.

Streaming: A Frontier Full of Pitfalls

Streaming platforms, meanwhile, represent possibility—but also peril. The opportunity is massive: Africa’s internet adoption is skyrocketing, smartphone penetration is high, and audiences are hungry for on-demand content. In South Africa alone, over 8.4 million people already access paid or subscription-based streaming services, and forecasts predict annual growth rates of nearly 8% by 2028.

Yet, streaming faces its own complacency trap. Too many global platforms arrive with the assumption that Africa is a blank slate waiting for Western models. Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), the Netflix-style approach, dominates their thinking. But Africa is not a monolith. A subscription model that thrives in Cape Town may collapse in Kano. Consumers toggle between data plans, dip in and out of subscriptions, and expect flexible options.

Localised innovation has shown the way. Platforms like Viu have succeeded by introducing daily bundles, affordable packages, and mobile-first experiences tailored to Africans who live between Wi-Fi and mobile data. But not enough platforms are following this lead. Instead, complacency manifests as uniformity: the belief that if it works in London, it must work in Lagos.

Data, Cost, and Access: The Real Bottlenecks

Complacency also ignores the obvious structural challenges. Data costs in Africa remain among the highest in the world relative to income levels. In rural areas, connectivity remains patchy. Even in relatively advanced markets, streaming uninterrupted HD content is still a privilege.

The danger here is not that these barriers exist—it’s that platforms pretend they don’t. TV has survived this long precisely because it does not depend on internet connectivity. Streaming cannot expect to win hearts if it refuses to solve for access. Partnerships with telcos, zero-rated content, offline downloads, and bundled pricing aren’t optional add-ons—they are survival strategies.

Fragmentation: When Too Much Becomes Too Little

African audiences are spoiled for choice—and yet, underserved. Local broadcasters, global giants, niche streaming apps, YouTube creators, and social media platforms are all vying for attention. But instead of synergy, fragmentation often dominates.

Complacency shows up when platforms prioritize volume over value—piling catalogues with international content while ignoring the need for culturally resonant African stories. Or worse, when they chase short-term licensing deals instead of building long-term production ecosystems.

Fragmentation without direction leaves viewers overwhelmed and disconnected. It also keeps advertisers cautious, unsure of where true engagement lives.

AVOD: The Sleeping Giant

Ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) is often treated as a fallback plan, when in reality it may be Africa’s most powerful pathway to scale. Unlike SVOD, AVOD lowers barriers to entry for unbanked users, or those who cannot commit to recurring subscriptions. It opens the ecosystem to advertisers hungry for engaged, mobile-first consumers.

But complacency here is assuming that AVOD equals dumping ads into videos. African audiences are not passive; they are brand-conscious and aspirational. They respond to culturally attuned campaigns, local languages, and relatable narratives. The challenge is not just to sell ads—it is to reimagine advertising as storytelling that deepens connection between brands and culture.

Hybrid models that combine SVOD and AVOD are proving effective in emerging markets. Africa has the chance to lead in perfecting this blend—but only if platforms resist the complacency of one-size-fits-all thinking.

The Local Content Question

The loudest call from African audiences is also the most ignored: local content. Music gave us the blueprint. Afrobeats did not wait for validation—it went global because it was authentic. Nollywood followed, breaking barriers with its prolific output and unapologetically African narratives.

Video streaming has the same opportunity. But global platforms too often commission one-off productions as experiments, rather than investing in consistent pipelines of African talent. Complacency here looks like underinvestment, treating Africa as a test market rather than a priority.

What Africa needs is not tokenism but infrastructure: writers’ rooms, production facilities, dubbing artists, translators, and marketing teams that understand regional nuance. Content is not just entertainment—it is cultural preservation and economic development.

Advertising, Influence, and the New Attention Economy

Advertisers, too, cannot afford complacency. The African audience is young, mobile, and deeply engaged with culture. They are not passive consumers of content but active participants in the attention economy. Streaming and TV platforms that partner with advertisers to tell culturally grounded stories will thrive. Those that treat advertising as a generic add-on will be tuned out.

For broadcasters and streaming platforms alike, advertising is no longer about filling slots—it’s about creating meaningful touchpoints where culture and commerce meet.

Complacency vs. Intentionality: The Real Battle

The greatest threat to both streaming and TV in Africa is not technology, not cost, not even competition—it is complacency. The complacency of broadcasters who assume reach equals relevance. The complacency of streamers who recycle Western models. The complacency of advertisers who underestimate African audiences.

The antidote is intentionality. Intentional investment in local content. Intentional partnerships with telcos and creators. Intentional engagement with the realities of African consumers, who do not want charity—they want choice, relevance, and respect.

Africa’s Blueprint: Not Copy, But Creation

Africa is not simply catching up to global trends—it is writing its own blueprint. That blueprint is:

Mobile-first: Because most Africans experience the internet through their phones.
Culturally grounded: Because audiences crave stories in their languages, about their lives.
Locally built: Because imported models cannot serve 54 unique countries.
Hybrid and flexible: Because African consumers need choice, not rigidity.

The winners of Africa’s video revolution will not be those with the biggest libraries or the flashiest technology. They will be the ones who refuse to settle, who see Africa not as an afterthought but as a frontier of innovation.

Conclusion: The Knife’s Edge of Complacency

Africa’s creative industries stand at a knife’s edge. On one side lies opportunity: a continent brimming with youth, culture, and demand. On the other lies the danger of squandered potential.

Complacency may be subtle, but it is deadly. It convinces broadcasters they have time. It persuades streaming platforms that Africa will adapt to them, instead of the other way around. It lulls advertisers into thinking they can recycle global campaigns without context.

But Africa cannot afford complacency—not now. Not when its creative industries have the chance to define global narratives for the next generation. The world is watching, and Africa is ready. The question is: are its platforms ready to show up with intention, or to fade into irrelevance by standing still?

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