TV is big in Africa – and
getting bigger

An unintended consequence of the streaming revolution can be witnessed in living rooms around the world: as more screen entertainment moves out of cinemas and into homes, consumers are investing more and more in, well, big screens.

The so-called OTT market, or content delivered “over the top” of Internet access and bypassing traditional distribution, received a massive boost during the Covid pandemic, and the momentum has not slowed. Netflix has 277-million paying subscribers worldwide, while YouTube has more than 2.7-billion monthly active users.

“Consumers are now looking at spending more screen time at home, in terms of utilising the content that’s there on OTT platforms,” says Jobin Joejoe, managing director of Sony for the Middle East and Africa.

“There has been a need for larger screen TV, so that automatically led to a shift, as customers started upgrading. I think it will keep continuing for some time, but varies country to country in terms of the size.

“For example, an optimum size today in a market like South Africa would be a 65-inch screen. But if you look at other African markets, like Kenya or Nigeria, it still stays at 50- or 55-inch.

“In every market, we are seeing that uplift continuing, Middle East markets are already more aligned with 75-inch and 85-inch screens, depending on the stage at which the market is. Market to market, the optimum size of TV depends on average income status, size of rooms and other defining factors.”

In some cases, it is a status symbol to have a bigger TV. But that, too, is dependent on local culture and social dynamics.

“If you look at Middle Eastern countries, it is a status symbol because they have a lot of family gatherings and friends meeting, and the TV is generally seen. They like to show off the products.”

Sony closed its TV division in South Africa ten years ago, but the burgeoning demand led to a rethink, and the Bravia range is back in the country.

“We have a channel strategy for TV, where we are not present in the local mass market,” Joejoe told Business Times. “But a lot of independent retailers in South Africa are already carrying our televisions. Once we have our online platforms in place, that will be another channel for catering to South African customers.”

A refreshed range will also appeal to a wider market in this country, he says.

“Sony has a product that can cater to every kind of customer need. Every series of TV caters to a specific segment of customers. There are TVs that are made for movie watchers, there are TVs that are made for sports lovers, there are TVs that’s made for gaming customers. An average size that sells for us here would be 55- to 65-inch, mid- to high-end TVs.”

South Africa is Sony’s biggest market in Africa, and is regarded as a showcase market for the continent.

“South Africa leads the region in terms of adoption of new technologies, similar to the role that UAE plays in the Middle East. Anything that’s new is first adopted here, and then we would see it percolating through the rest of the region.”

There is one characteristic that sets this continent apart.

“Something that’s unique to Africa is the usage of sound. You still see a lot of customers who need loud sound, big audio systems. That is quite different from the Middle East, which is more about aesthetics and looks of the product. So they picked up on the sound bars whereas, in Africa, you would have the big three-box audio systems and the big single-tower systems. Why? The song and dance culture is much stronger on the African continent.”

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on social media on @art2gee