Johannesburg - Naspers, Africa’s biggest company by market value, is planning to expand its video-streaming competitor to Netflix into three new continents next year.
In addition, Samsung Electronics has agreed to include the service on its smart TVs, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The company will target more than 15 million customers outside its home market of South Africa, providing content across Europe, North America and Australasia, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.
The service, called Showmax, will provide Afrikaans content in international markets next month and west African shows next year, according to the person.
Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk is overseeing the expansion of ShowMax across Africa and beyond as Netflix targets 200 countries next year. The move into online streaming is the latest evolution of a South African business that started as a newspaper publisher and is now an investor in emerging- market startups including Tencent Holdings and India’s Ibibo.
A Showmax representative declined to comment. Samsung representatives declined to comment in an e-mail.
Naspers shares gained as much 1.6 percent to the highest on record and traded 1.4 percent higher at R2 230 rand as of 12:56 p.m. in Johannesburg.
Showmax has signed distribution partnerships in South Africa with Samsung and Telkom, the country’s largest fixed-line operator, according to the person. The company is also in partnership talks with Vodacom Group , the South African unit of Vodafone Group , and is exploring further expansion in sub-Saharan Africa, said the person.
Naspers, which has a market value of $65 billion and is Africa’s largest pay-TV provider, is competing with Ericsson’s NuVu and PCCW’s OnTAPTV video-on-demand services on the continent as well as Netflix. Streaming services are targeting Africa as wireless networks become more widespread and reliable, allowing the delivery of video in a region where landlines are scarce.
-With assistance from Jungah Lee.
BLOOMBERG