Recent data released from StarNews Mobile, Africa’s leading video streaming platform, has shown that content creators across Africa experienced a 300% surge in revenues during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), reaffirming the massive surge in consumption of hyper-localized content from the continent.
Based on metrics from StarNews Mobile’s platform, creators in Nigeria, Cameroon and Cote D’Ivoire saw 200%, 300% and 400% increases in viewers and revenue respectively between December 2023 and February 2024.
In total, the company streamed more than 4 million pieces of content per month to football fans via its AFCON-related channels, amassing 500,000 subscribers for content specifically related to the tournament.
Guy Kamgaing, Founder and CEO at StarNews Mobile, says “Whilst one of the main conversations of this year’s AFCON has been the commercial growth of African sport, these statistics reinforce the revolution in another one of the continent’s fastest-growing sectors – the content space.
“Based on the data, there’s undoubtedly a huge demand for quality, hyper-localized content from African creators but if we want to effectively unlock the full potential of this market opportunity, we must empower both sides of the marketplace.”
Kamgaing continues, “With this in mind, it’s simply not enough to just provide a platform for African creators to express themselves. We need to invest in their success by equipping them with the financial stability, independence and freedom to create so they can fully leverage the massive value the continent and its diaspora’s 1.2bn consumers hold.”
Launched in 2017, StarNews Mobile empowers African content creators with the unique opportunity to monetize their work through a subscription model, boasting over 4 million subscribers and a thriving community of more than 120 content creators.
With a strong presence across six countries including Cameroon, Nigeria, Côte D’Ivoire, Congo, Benin and Ghana, the platform has also established key partnerships with major telecom operators such as MTN and Orange.
To date, StarNews Mobile has secured over $8mn in funding with its most recent raise – a $3mn pre-Series A funding round in October 2023 – led by Janngo Capital with participation from French football players Aurélien Tchouaméni, Jules Koundé and Mike Maignan.
According to sports analytics platform, Opta, the 2023 AFCON has been one of the most exciting in the tournament’s history with this year’s group stage alone recording an average goals-per-game rate of 2.47, making this AFCON’s highest-scoring tournament in 15 years.
With CAF (Confederation of African Football), the organisers of AFCON 2023, securing a 100% increase in applications for media accreditations to cover the event alongside extensive global broadcasting deals, the tournament has broken into a new threshold of worldwide popularity.
