As the war for the internet TV consumer market thickens in Africa a Malaysian subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service and Southeast Asia’s fastest growing Internet TV service, iFlix will be launching its services soon in Africa with the countries on which the services will be accessible still not announced.
iFlix raised US$90m (to help in expanding its investments) in a round led by telecommunications giants Liberty Global and Kuwait-based Zain to take on Netflix and Naspers, which owns ShowMax, in Africa and the Middle East,
iFlix promises to offer a lower-cost alternative video-on-demand service as compared to ShowMax and Netflix and is already available in nine countries in Southeast Asia, providing a mix of Hollywood and local programming. It has more than 5m customers in those markets and is now eyeing Africa and the Middle East as its next big opportunity for expansion.
South Africans and users in the other African markets where iFlix will be launched, can look forward to a mix of Hollywood and local and regional content that can be accessed on mobile phones, laptops, tablets or TV.
The company has already got office spaces in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Accra and Lagos. The Cape Town office has about 25 employees, with eight in Johannesburg.
