- A new survey of the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa looked at brands and services winning in SA.
- South Africans said SABC1 is their most often watched TV channel.
- While the king of streaming is YouTube – by a long, long way – 6% of respondents say they watch Showmax, over 5% for rival Netflix.
More South Africans say they’re watching Showmax* than rival Netflix South Africa – but by just a smidge
A new survey of 3,154 South Africans by the Broadcast Research Council of South Africa (BRCSA) between January and June this year found that YouTube is the top streaming video service in SA by an enormous margin, and that SABC1 is the most-watched broadcast channel.
Steaming
A whopping 87% said they use YouTube most often, followed by 6% for Showmax, 5% for Netflix and 2% for other services, such as Amazon Prime.
24% of users said they’ve used YouTube in the past week; for Showmax that last-week number was 5%, and for Netflix 4%.
The survey makes clear how small video streaming services are still in South Africa, with 73% of South Africans in the survey saying they have not watched any video streaming content in the past week.
Television
South Africans said SABC1 is their most often watched TV channel, that eNCA on MultiChoice’s DStv is their most often watched TV news channel, and that SuperSport 4 is their most often watched sports channel.
The survey also reveals a rise in the popularity of TV channels carving away at the SABC’s television dominance.
SABC1, followed by e.tv, SABC2, and SABC2, are still the biggest and most often watched channels, while e.tv’s set of free-to-air channels like eMovies and eExtra are rapidly gaining traction, as is the Indian-infused Zee World.
M-Net’s Mzansi Magic is the TV channel that leads the charge on smartphones as the most watched channel on this type of device.
* Showmax is a Naspers company. Business Insider South Africa is a part of 24.com, a division of Media24. Media24 is a Naspers company.
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