Malaysian-based Video-On-Demand (VOD) service provider, iFlix, is coming to Africa.
According to reports, iFlix which promises a lower-cost alternative video-on-demand service, will launch in seven African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, by June.
Iflix Regional manager, Jo Eyre, says that the company has aggressive plans to expand in Africa. The company recently raised $90 million in a round led by telecommunications giants Liberty Global Plc and Kuwait-based Zain to fund this expansion.
Currently boasting of over 5 million subscribers, the streaming provider is looking to capitalize on its early success in the Southwestern Asia region by spreading to emerging markets elsewhere, starting with the Middle East and Africa.
According to Patrick Grove, Iflix cofounder and chairman in an interview, “It was always meant to be a Southeast Asian business, but it grew so fast.” He started the company with fellow entrepreneur Mark Britt, the company’s chief executive officer, with support from Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency and private equity firm TPG Growth.
Grove added that Iflix has succeeded by positioning itself as cheap alternative to piracy, which is rampant in poorer countries where most people don’t pay for cable. Though the membership fee varies by country, it costs about as much as a pirated DVD typically does in those markets. In Malaysia, Iflix runs about $1.80 a month for an annual subscription. Netflix’s service starts at about $8 a month in many markets.
Iflix hopes that the strategy of working closely with telcos would work in Africa. It has relied on telecommunications providers to sell Iflix on top of their phone packages. That way, Iflix doesn’t have to spend much money recruiting customers, and mobile providers can use Iflix to keep customers from defecting to rival carriers.
Iflix has already established a head office in Cape Town, along with offices in Johannesburg, Nairobi, Accra and Lagos. The Cape Town office has about 25 employees, with eight in Johannesburg.
Eyre said 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. “There will be plenty of African content in there,” she said, adding that Iflix is talking to content producers in various markets.
