(Continued From Page 10) 12 And so, yes, as we’ve all heard everywhere and for a while now, and correctly, Africa is indeed poised to become the next big media market, with a rapidly expanding middle class and a youthful population that is hungry for content that reflects their own experiences and aspirations. This has created a fertile ground for the development of a wide range of programming, from drama and comedy to reality shows and documentaries, that resonates with African audiences and seems poised to interest and captivate viewers around the world. In terms of the type of programming being produced in Africa and reaching the rest of the world, there is a diverse range of content that showcases the talent and creativity of African filmmakers and storytellers. From gritty crime dramas set in urban centers like Johannesburg and Lagos, to heartwarming family comedies set in small villages, African television offers a rich tapestry of stories that reflect the complexities and contradictions of modern African life, and at this relatively still early stage of its global reach, the world seems interested. All of this sounds promising, but it must be viewed in the context of the 2025 global state of the industry. African content is going worldwide in a very different moment than that in which other continents and regions hit the rest of the world. License fees are not what they once were in the heydays of terrestrial, cable and satellite. Series tend to be of significantly shorter running times, which typically means significantly less revenue, and programming now competes for acquisition with content from pretty much the entire world these days. Films, although certainly of continued importance to numerous platforms, don’t keep subscribers subscribed, a real concern of many SVoDs. Thus, it remains to be seen, despite all the aforementioned positives, the extent of the inroads that African content can make in a global market more crowded, more evolved than ever before. We’ll see. (By Bruce Rabinowitz) Bruce Rabinowitz is a New York Citybased distributor with extensive TV business experience in various parts of Africa. African content is going worldwide in a very different moment than that in which other continents and regions hit the rest of the world. VIDEOAGE September 2025 African TV Market s ln the business of building businesse ATF25_VideoAge FP Ad 270x360mm_FA.indd 1 14/8/25 11:11 PM
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