South Africa has had its fair share of streaming services over the years with Cell C’s Black and iFlix as two examples of streaming services that are no longer available or viable. Here are some of the most popular streaming providers now available.

There are ways of working around the system by rerouting your IP address to gain the full spectrum of entertainment offered on international streaming packages, but this is illegal even if you’re paying. These services do generally enable users who are travelling to continue using their original accounts.

Netflix

They originally sent DVDs via the U.S. postal service to their network of subscribers. This required dropping off and collecting discs, which while a great deal more convenient than driving to your local video store was still a chore. The advent of faster internet speeds, the impact of piracy and more flexible content licensing made it feasible to take content online and make it available for streaming without buffering issues. Being the frontrunner and pioneer, their streaming interfaces and data efficiency is tops. The search facility doesn’t enable you to see their full catalogue, which is a bit frustrating but their recommendations based on similar titles are usually quite good.

As Netflix has grown into an entertainment empire, the rest of the world has continued to improve when it comes to download speeds and efficacy making it easier for the streaming giant to set up camp in one new country after another. Hampered by licensing issues, their full content offering isn’t available to South Africans yet. While somewhat restricted, they’re still considered to be the most popular streaming service, often referenced in pop culture. They create their own original content and are thriving under lockdown, despite looming vulnerabilities when it comes to licensors revoking their licenses in favour of creating their own streaming channels.

Showmax

This is South Africa’s biggest local streaming service. While they’re not in the same league as Netflix’s international bouquet of big series and movie titles, they’re a heavyweight contender when it comes to their wider spectrum of content with the support of some heavyhitting content providers. Now streaming TV series, movies, stand up, sport and news channels, it’s a high value offering at a mere R99 per month. This makes Showmax a very attractive alternative to locals.

While more limited than Amazon Prime or Netflix, you can view their entire catalogue of film and TV series, which makes it easier to navigate and discover content on your own terms. There’s less original content, meaning fewer straight-to-video options but this is usually a good thing. Constantly adding new titles and becoming a content generator, Showmax ensures there’s generally always something worthwhile to watch. The streaming and app development isn’t on the same level as Netflix but is constantly improving.

Disney+

Disney has come to represent a multitude of entertainment brands over the years, including: Marvel, Pixar, Fox, Star Wars, National Geographic and more. When they launched the platform app was criticsed for technical issues, which have continued to plague the service provider ever since with user report crashes, login issues and inconsistent streaming quality. The good news is that this entertainment giant offers a massive bouquet of their films, series and documentaries, which are typically of a high quality.

So if you’re interested in Disney’s wide array of entertainment and are willing to deal with the odd technical issue, Disney+ is a great option. If you’ve been a dedicated fan over the years, it may be a case of rewatching some classics but this family-friendly channel does have something for everyone.

Amazon Prime

This international streaming service is also restrictive in terms of its offering in South Africa. While very competitively priced, the main reason to subscribe to Amazon Prime is for the selection of TV shows. Amazon Prime Video have a terrific selection of high quality and star-studded television shows. The service mimics most streaming platforms when it comes to features. Their biggest weakness is their pithy selection of films, which is padded. There are one or two diamonds in the rough but for the most part, it’s filler.

Not being able to stream films available on the Amazon storefront seems a bit mean. Otherwise it’s a sturdy streaming service – possibly worth adding on as a +1 or for a few months until you exhaust their worthwhile films or shows.

Apple TV+

Known for high quality productions, Apple TV+ has a pay-per-view and subscription service. This gives you access to their Apple Original shows and movies. Having a sleek user interface, the slim pickings make Apple TV+ an add-on service rather than a standalone contender in comparison with its competitors when it comes to subscription. You can access a wider selection of their movies and TV shows to purchase or rent like Google Play, although this does add up and make this an expensive exercise prone to cherry-picking.

Apple TV+ is affordable and reliable in contrast with other 4K streaming services. It’s also convenient if you already own Apple devices, which lends it to fans of Apple Originals and can be a useful way to manage streaming content via the Apple TV app.

DStv Now

DStv Now is DStv satellite TV’s streaming service enabling their premium subscribers the option of watching content wherever they are. Operating much like other streaming services, you can log-in or download the DStv Now app to gain access. Since the service is a free add-on, it’s not pushed as a standalone offering. You can use you log-in details to access a decent array of Catch Up movies and TV series on most devices, except smart-enabed TVs.

The service is quite basic yet efficient enough to make it a valuable add-on. Browsing through premiere movies or recently screened titles, it does have its perks for subscribers who aren’t always at home. The selection features most of the shows and movies that are currently being broadcast on DStv at that point so they’re constantly adding new content. One of the other pluses is that their content often diverges from the glut of movies offered on other platforms, enabling you to access new release titles more readily.

Google Play

The Google Play store consists of movies for rent and purchase. The best thing about Google Play’s selection is that it’s hot off the press. The latest releases drop at the Google Play movies store, which means you’ll have a steady stream of movies to choose from that have arrived fresh from the big screen. The down side is that you may have to buy the movie if you really want to watch it straight away. At prices exceeding R140, this hardly seems worth it if you’re only planning on watching it once. Although gathering a bunch of friends or family around will definitely give you more value out of the deal.

The rentals start from R20 and if you’re patient enough, most titles available on Google Play eventually become available to rent at a much more attractive price. The streaming quality is excellent and the platform gives you 48 hours to watch your rental, which is a reasonable time allocation. Owning the title in its digital form as an HD movie may have its benefits, but it hardly feels like you own it if you can only watch it on the Google Play app.

YouTube

YouTube is the original video streaming provider. They’re gearing up to release YouTube TV, which is currently not available in South Africa. While their dedicated streaming service isn’t available, the video giant has thousands of web series and short films to choose from. if you’re looking for more traditional format shows and movies on YouTube, they also have a wide selection. Hosting many forgotten shows such as Beyond 2000, you can also stream a number of movies legally on YouTube. Unfortunately, the films that are available are limited and generally not very good.

The channel is a bit slow to root out illegal uploads of new movies so it’s a bit of a minefield in terms of piracy and not recommended for film specifically. YouTube’s general glut of content may be a bit woolly, but there are plenty of great interviews, music videos, show excerpts and hidden gems to make the time go by if you’re willing to find the fun.

Tubi

Tubi is one of several free movie-watching apps available for download. As a free service, the titles are pretty much what you’d expect. Mostly b-movies and oddballs, it doesn’t take much searching to find the odd gem. The Tubi channel hosts many movies in the public domain. You can expect to find some cult movies but don’t be fooled… there are some excellent titles available. Use their handy categories to navigate to the highest rated Rotten Tomatoes review films or try one of the crazy cult movies for something different. Did we mention it’s free?

Art House

You can visit Mubi and Curzon Cinemas to get a healthy dose of ad-free art house and cinema nouveau titles. Both channels specialise in providing curated film content that will appeal to film buffs, world cinema and art house fans. We haven’t confirmed their availability in South Africa or tried their free trial.

Have another streaming provider or tip to add to this overview? Please get in touch to let us know.