Amazon Prime Video is said to be downsizing its operations in Africa and in The Middle East.
This will directly impact teams in the two regions of as layoffs are inevitable and expected in this move.
According to reports, the company will stop contracting originals in Sub-saharan Africa and Middle East markets, and will instead focus on European originals.
The shows that have received the go-ahead will however continue as planned.
It is interesting to note that Prime Video only recently claimed to have laid out a strategy to become the biggest video streaming player in Africa.
It had signed multi-year licensing agreements with production companies and set up teams in Nigeria and South Africa.
Amazon Prime Video entered the African market in 2016. It was part of fulfilling its goal of expansion to over 200 countries.
The company poised a recognizable competition to Netflix and its global launch at the time.
The platform’s move to explore Africa for original and licensed content was successful and got a lot of attention .
According to Digital TV Research ,Prime Video has grown to over 600,000 subscribers in Africa, thus claiming the position of Africa’s third-largest video streaming platform.
Before the recent turn of events, the company had plans to add 1.5 million more subscribers over the next four years by launching localised plans in emerging markets to achieve the goal.
Vice President of Prime Video Europe, Barry Furlong, explained the company’s unexpected move.
He said the company is restructuring to adjust priorities and refocus.
“We’ve been carefully looking at our business to ensure we continue to prioritize our resources on what matters most to customers. I have carefully evaluated our structure in the region and decided to make some adjustments to our operating model to rebalance and pivot our resources to focus on the areas that drive the highest impact and long-term success,” Furlong said.
He also believes the decision will improve the company’s agility in its operations.
“I have listened and considered the feedback received across the teams over the past 12 months; I believe these changes will improve the operational running of our multi-territory business and allow us to be more agile and focused,” he added.
Reports also said that the company plans to split the European team into two groups:
- 1. The EU Established and
- 2. The EU the EU Emerging.
The EU Established will focus on the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, and Spain markets.
The EU Emerging will cover operations in Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), the Nordics, and Central and Eastern Europe.
