This week, Amazon Prime Video announced the launch of a localized version of its streaming service in Nigeria, one of Africa’s biggest markets. Just as it did in Southeast Asia a few weeks ago, the tech behemoth is attempting to increase its subscriber push in new markets such as Africa. Their goals are to increase their local production investment, unveil slates of localized originals, and introduce discounted Amazon Prime membership offerings to customers.
Amazon Prime Video launched in Africa in 2016 as part of its global push across more than 200 countries, posing serious competition to Netflix’s global plan, which also launched that year. However, regional versions of the service have never included the local-language interfaces, subtitling, and original content offerings in more developed markets.
That is changing today in Nigeria and throughout Africa, as the company plans to enter new markets such as South Africa. According to a tweet from the company’s official account, Prime Video Naija, customers in Nigeria can stream more than 20,000 original TV shows and movies within its ecosystem, including “The Boys,” “All or Nothing,” “Reacher,” and “All the Old Knives.” After a seven-day trial, the service will cost $2,300/month ($4), according to its website. Thus, users in Nigeria will be able to subscribe to Prime Video using their local currency for the first time, and unlike how most have accessed the platform in the past for region-specific content, they will not need a VPN to stream content on the service.
Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Canal+, and Showmax are competing for Africa’s projected 15 million video-on-demand subscribers in 2026. According to Digital TV Research, an analytics firm, Prime Video has 600,000 subscribers in Africa and may add 1.5 million new subscribers over the next four years, compared to Netflix’s 3 million subscribers.
Prime Video has been collaborating with Nigerian filmmakers and content creators to gain market share amid a streaming war for African content and eyeballs to create original and licensed content.
“Gangs of Lagos,” a local original crime action film that follows three friends’ lives as they navigate the streets of Isale Eko in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, will be available on Amazon Prime Video later this year.
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