Early predictions suggested that Netflix will encounter a problem when it first launched in Africa in 2016. 5 years down the line, the storyline is now different.
A couple of months ago, a Mobile-only plan was launched in India, and now, plans have been concluded to launch a mobile-only plan across the Africa continent. Tested in Egypt in 2018, South Africa in 2019.
The Netflix new cheaper mobile-subscription will offer subscribers access to local shows that focus a lot on cultures and experiences in Africa in order to boost subscriptions.
Netflix is offering subscribers N1200 ($2.65) a month for its mobile-only service, well below the N2900 it’s been charging for its most basic account.
However, the offer is still more expensive than the N250 per month charged by Iroko TV, a streaming platform that has the largest online catalog of Nigerian Nollywood content giving access to over 5000 movies.
Netflix Pricing Model in Africa
| Monthly price ($) | Number of screens at a time | Types of screens | Resolution | |
| Mobile | 2.30 | 1 | Mobile and tablet | Standard |
| Mobile+ | 3.50 | 1 | Mobile, tablet and laptop | Standard |
| Basic | 9 | 1 | Mobile, tablet, laptop and TV | Standard |
| Standard | 13 | 2 | Mobile, tablet, laptop and TV | HD |
| Premium | 16 | 4 | Mobile, tablet, laptop and TV | HD and Ultra HD |
Netflix plans to expand the mobile-only contracts permanently if the trials, which began in South Africa and Egypt, becomes a success. The mobile-only plan will be added to the three existing plans — Basic, Standard, and Premium — when it rolls out.
According to Digital TV Research, the streaming service firm has only 1.4m subscribers when compared to about 20m customers that have been signed up to MultiChoice Group, an African pay-TV firm.
If only data will be more affordable, this streaming services will boom.