WITH so many streaming services available in South Africa, it can often be overwhelming trying to narrow down your options on what to watch and which streaming platform to watch on.
Life before streaming services included flicking through channels until you found something suitable to watch, however, with streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Showmax, your choice is seemingly endless, albeit with some limitations.
On the plus side, several services do give you the option of a trial basis to help you figure out if you would like to fully commit.
We’ve put together a list of four services you might want to explore to help narrow down your choices.
1. Netflix
Netflix is probably one of the better-known streaming services, boasting more than 100-million subscribers worldwide. It is almost like a one-stop-shop and has a great user interface. The streaming giant also features some incredible content, and several of its own original shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things.
The large variety of content, in our opinion, makes Netflix still one of the best streaming options – and with a price range between R49 per month to R199.
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2. Disney+
Okay, this might sound a bit biased, but Disney+ offers an astounding amount of content, and it also has a solid base to work off of with several classics like Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book and the Lion King – that Mufasa scene still hurts to this day – to name a few.
With galaxies and universes to explore, Disney+ is the perfect option, boasting titles from the Star Wars Franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as shows from National Geographic and animated gems from Pixar.
Disney+ offers users a standard plan at R119 per month or R1 190 per annum, but it is a service we would recommend.
3. Showmax
Okay, where do we start? Showmax is basically South Africa’s streaming service as it is only available in the country. Don’t let that deter you, as it has sports and a large library of locally produced TV shows in some of the country’s mother tongues.
It also includes a small content pool of shows from BBC, HBO and Hulu.
If you are looking for movies, it wouldn’t be our go-to streaming service, but with a R39 price tag for the mobile plans, to R299 for the Pro version, it is also well worth a subscription.
The plus to Showmax is that it is free for DSTV Premium subscribers. Prices also range on various DSTV packages.
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4. Amazon Prime Video
Although this streaming service falls on the cheaper side of subscription prices (R79 per month), Amazon Prime Video doesn’t boast as much in original content as Netlfix and Disney+. Having said that, it does have an abundance of its own crowd-pleasing hits like The Boys, Foundation and Fleabag.
There are always new shows and movies being added, so while it is a service we’d recommend, there is certainly more content on Netflix or Disney+.
Other streaming service options that are available in South Africa
While we didn’t go into detail, there are a few other options on the spectrum of services which include Apple TV+, BritBox, Crunchyroll and eVOD, a new Video on Demand from the e.tv service.
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