Despite its global expansions and market approach, Home Box Office, HBO has yet to make its entry into Africa and probably have no plan to at this time.
HBO’s establishment in other regions and dedicated services including in Brazil, Canada, Eastern Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean have raised expectations in Africa.
It is noteworthy to say that, HBO is closer than ever. All its shows from its flagship channel HBO to HBO Max and HBO Zone as well as all its subsidiaries are now available in Africa.
The are several distribution partnerships that merge HBO shows to other broadcast networks, cable channels and video-on-demand services outside the United States.
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HBO in Africa
Showmax and M-Net which both operate in the African continent are among those networks that make HBO shows – both originals and non-originals available on the continent at this time.
All HBO titles and new episodes air on Showmax in Africa the same days as it airs in the United States which is what the deal between both parties state.
Francophone countries in Africa have access to HBO shows on Canal+.
Both Showmax and M-Net are South Africa owned companies. In its latest expansion, Showmax opened its online subscription video on demand in Nigeria and Kenya in 2020.
Similar to Netflix, it is a streaming platform and it is possible to stream over the web or better still download for later use.
M-Net on the other hand is a television channel that also makes HBO shows available through its M-Net Binge.
M-net Binge and Showmax are both available in several countries in Africa.