Netflix, e.tv look to fill the gap Showmax left behind — The cast of The Four of Us

eMedia has struck a content licensing deal with Netflix that will put e.tv programming on the global streaming platform across Africa – a first for the free-to-air broadcaster, and a move that plants Netflix squarely in the local soapie territory vacated by Showmax’s shutdown in April.

The partnership launches with The Four of Us, e.tv’s new primetime daily drama, which premiered on 29 June in the 8pm weeknight slot held for 23 years by Scandal!. Each episode airs on e.tv at 8pm and lands on Netflix across the continent at 9am the next morning – the first e.tv telenovela to stream on Netflix.

Produced by Tshedza Pictures – the company behind The River and The Republic, in its first project for e.tv – the series is a family drama centred on the Dhlomo family, led by Sindi Dlathu, Sdumo Mtshali and Thembinkosi Mthembu.

The strategic subtext is hard to miss. When Canal+-controlled MultiChoice switched Showmax off on 30 April, it shut the platform that had made local soapies and telenovelas a core of its streaming pitch. That left a gap in the market for premium South African daily drama on demand – and Netflix, which marks 10 years in South Africa this year, has now moved into it in partnership with MultiChoice’s oldest free-to-air rival.

For eMedia, the deal converts its biggest new production into a second revenue stream and a continental audience without touching its free-to-air business – and without depending on the pay-TV gatekeeper it has spent years fighting over channel carriage.

“Working with Netflix allows us to take our content further, while continuing to deliver strong local entertainment to the free-to-air audiences at the centre of what we do,” said eMedia chief content officer Marlon Davids in a statement on Wednesday.

‘New era’

The arrangement does raise a question about eVOD, eMedia’s own streaming service: licensing the group’s flagship new drama to Netflix suggests eMedia has concluded that a global platform can monetise its content across Africa in a way its in-house streamer cannot – a pragmatic call, but one that positions eVOD as a domestic catch-up service rather than a continental contender.

For Netflix, the deal signals a shift towards licensing from established African broadcasters rather than relying solely on costlier original commissions. “We believe that e.tv’s creative ambition and Netflix’s passion for African stories can open a new era for South African content,” said Ben Amadasun, Netflix vice president of content for the Middle East and Africa, in the statement.