Has Netflix revolutionised South African storytelling ?

As South Africa marks 10 years since the 2016 arrival of global streaming giant Netflix, students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) are asking whether the platform has strengthened local storytelling or entrenched a new form of digital neo-colonialism.

The question formed the backbone of an academic symposium hosted by UWC from 27 to 28 January 2026, bringing together South African and international researchers to examine how global streaming platforms are reshaping culture, identity and power in the local media landscape.

The debate comes at a volatile moment for the industry, following French media group Canal+’s $3.2 billion acquisition of MultiChoice, owner of DStv and Showmax. Researchers said the deal shifts the conversation beyond the influence of a single platform to the emergence of a potential transnational media monopoly.

The symposium was hosted by the UWC Chair in Media Inclusion and Diversity and forms part of a joint research initiative led by Associate Professor Sisanda Nkoala from UWC’s Linguistics Department and Professor Leo van Audenhove of Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), who also holds an extraordinary professorship at UWC. The initiative is aimed at deepening research ties between South Africa and Belgium and addressing questions of media inclusion in the Global South.

“This is a look at ten years of us: our stories, our policies, and our evolving identity in a digital world,” said Prof Nkoala in her opening remarks. “We are asking the tough questions: Who is seen, who is heard, and who is being ‘coded out’ of our contemporary cultural archive?”

Before Netflix’s entry into South Africa, audiences largely relied on traditional broadcasters and limited video-on-demand services such as Showmax, launched in 2015. Netflix’s subscription-based, on-demand model, coupled with its growing catalogue of original programming, introduced a new paradigm of content consumption and production.

Over the past decade, Netflix’s presence in South Africa has evolved from a library dominated by international titles to a strategy that includes commissioning local productions such as Queen Sono, Blood & Water and How to Ruin Christmas. While this expanded the global reach of South African stories, it also sparked debates around representation, cultural authenticity and who ultimately controls the narrative.

Researchers at the symposium noted that while Netflix set the pace for the streaming era, the sector is now undergoing its most radical transformation yet. Prof van Audenhove said the collaboration was driven by the need to understand how global streaming trends play out in South Africa compared with Europe.

“At our university, we have been following closely what is happening in streaming and what it means for European production and culture,” he said. “But we realised we don’t know enough about what is happening in South Africa, particularly with changes such as Canal+ moving into the market.”

He said the acquisition of MultiChoice raised new questions about production, representation and cultural sovereignty, especially as Canal+’s dominance in Francophone Africa could result in the creation of a pan-African media powerhouse. Researchers questioned whether this centralisation of power would expand the diversity of voices on screen or marginalise smaller independent producers who play a critical role in South Africa’s media ecosystem.

Despite the focus on content and platforms, presenters stressed that the “hard” infrastructure of media access remains a significant barrier. Keynote speaker Axelle Asmar of VUB highlighted that high data costs and uneven broadband access mean the streaming boom remains out of reach for many South Africans, particularly in rural areas.

“We are not just looking at content; we are looking at the ‘hard’ infrastructure of access,” said Prof Nkoala. “Limited broadband penetration and high data costs continue to constrain uptake. Our role is to ask who is being seen, who is being heard, and who is being ‘coded out’ by the algorithm.”

The symposium marks the start of a sustained research effort aimed at elevating South African perspectives in global media debates. A dedicated panel has already been accepted for the International Communication Association (ICA) conference to be held in Cape Town in June.

The UWC Chair in Media Inclusion and Diversity is also developing a pipeline of emerging scholars. Among them is Carin Hector, a second-year master’s student in the Linguistics Department, who presented research titled The South African algorithm: Race and gender. Organisers said her work reflects the Chair’s broader aim of empowering young researchers to interrogate how language, identity and algorithms intersect in South Africa’s evolving digital media landscape.

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Cape Argus