MTN launches One TV streaming platform across South Africa and Zambia
MTN has launched a new video streaming platform, One TV, in South Africa and Zambia, offering free, ad-supported, and pay-per-view options. This new service leverages MTN's 312 million mobile customers and follows a deal with Synamedia to develop the platform. One TV aims to expand MTN's presence in online media and provide new opportunities for African creators and advertisers.
Key Takeaways
- Flexible monetization includes free-to-view, ad-supported, pay-per-view, and tiered subscription models based on local market conditions.
- Integrated payment infrastructure allows users to pay via MTN Mobile Money (MoMo) and airtime, bypassing the need for credit cards.
- Synamedia developed the back-end technology under a 2025 strategic partnership to scale video delivery across MTN's 16-market footprint.
- Launch follows the market exit of MultiChoice’s Showmax, which was recently closed by new owner Canal+ due to unsustainable losses.
Why It Matters
MTN’s entry signals a pivot from passive data provider to active content aggregator, leveraging its billing dominance to solve the payment friction that plagues African streaming. By offering ad-supported and pay-per-view tiers, MTN is challenging the rigid monthly subscription models used by global rivals like Netflix. This strategy arrives at a critical transition point for the continent’s media landscape; while incumbents like Showmax struggled with fixed costs, MTN’s vertical integration of connectivity and fintech provides a lower-cost acquisition channel. Watch for conversion rates of free-to-view users into paid tiers via Mobile Money as a benchmark for telco-led streaming viability.
Additional Context
The launch of One TV coincides with a period of massive consolidation and restructuring across the African streaming sector. On March 5, 2026, Canal+ and MultiChoice announced the shutdown of Showmax, once Africa’s largest native streaming platform. According to Variety and punchng.com, the decision followed a review by Canal+ after its September 2025 acquisition of MultiChoice, citing ‘unsustainable’ annual losses and failure to meet subscriber growth targets despite a $309 million joint investment with NBCUniversal. Per Legit.ng, MTN previously attempted to penetrate the video-on-demand market with its FrontRow (later VU) service, which launched in 2014 but was discontinued in 2017 due to scaling difficulties. The company also operated MusicTime, a unique time-based music streaming service launched in 2018. The debut of One TV represents a more technically integrated approach under MTN's 'Ambition 2030' strategy, which aims for a total transformation into a digital services platform. Regional competition is also intensifying beyond traditional broadcasters. Per Developing Telecoms, MTN rival Airtel Africa has operated Airtel TV since 2020. This shift toward telco-led platforms is supported by data from Statista, which forecasts that African streaming revenues will reach $7.1 million by 2029 as mobile operators use their control over customer billing and internet infrastructure to capture unbanked audiences that lack access to international credit cards.
Read full article at businessday.co.za
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