I don't get how Netflix-of-$NICHE can be a long term business. It seems that once $NICHE-stream demonstrates sufficient demand, Netflix can simply license the same content and provide customers with a superset of the content that $NICHE-stream provides.<p>It's also unclear to me that Netflix is even lacking in this specific niche. My ex-girlfriend loved browsing my netflix over a VPN because it had so much of her african american comedy. (Admittedly, what she - an African woman - considered a good selection might be different from what westerners consider a good selection.)<p>In a <i>few</i> cases, e.g. Parables ($NICHE=devout christians), I can see how they offer something different - they deliberately <i>exclude</i> content (e.g., movies that offend christian sensibilities) that their members don't want. But that doesn't seem to apply here.
I must point out that such a service exist, and it's one of the most successful startups out of Africa. It's called Irokotv, and at best afrosteam is a clone of this service. I was quite surprised the techcrunch article nor anyone else didn't mention them, here's a 2013 article from techcrunch after Irokotv closed $8 million in another round of funding- <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/17/the-scramble-for-africa-continues-irokotv-closes-8m-to-be-the-netflix-of-africa/" rel="nofollow">http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/17/the-scramble-for-africa-con...</a>
Quite frankly, I am tired of the tag, Netflix of "insert region where Netflix doesn't operate"
I would like to know if the founders of Afrostream will deny to being a clone of Irokotv
So, there are certainly valid questions about whether one can build a "Netflix-of-$NICHE", but I want to point to a lovely little example named Crunchyroll.<p>You can definitely succeed in a niche, provided you have some factors in your favor:<p>1. An audience that is dedicated to the content you serve<p>2. The ability to focus on the niche provides you a greater library than broader competitors have<p>3. The ability to market yourself in such a way that you build reputation with the core audience<p>The end result is you can create a product that other people will pass up competing offerings for that might have broader appeal - or will simply subscribe to both.<p>Netflix used to be the go-to for Anime for a long period of time. However, Crunchyroll was able to provide a much more massive library of anime on-demand and catered to the dedicated fanbase.
BET worked. CrunchyRoll worked. I think the service has a good chance of making it if there's demand in this niche and they focus on delivering where it's strongest. If they stream to U.S., too, we might also see some interesting movies and culture we'd otherwise not be exposed to. Regarding Netflix, they might compete but I doubt it given what the co-founder has said. More likely, a company like Netflix would acquire them to inherit and exploit the market they created. That's just my guess.<p>Good luck, Ludovic.
I'm absolutely certain you're just buried with the existing work of just
getting your new startup rolling with its original idea (African centric
movies), so put this (somewhat obvious) suggestion on your "possible
expansion ideas for maybe someday" list.<p>Something I find lacking on broadcast TV is news coverage of Africa. In
the US, the only place where you'll find regular English language
broadcast TV news coverage of Africa is, oddly enough, through CCTV
("China Central Television" via the Chinese government). Though it is
already possible to get _some_ African news coverage over the web, news
as a content source for your service might be a worthwhile addition.<p>According to CCTV coverage, African radio broadcasting is (supposedly)
extremely popular and far more widespread than TV. The pervasive use of
radio is (supposedly) due to radio being less expensive than TV and far
more widely adopted by the general populace. The part I found the most
interesting is how both pre-recorded and live serial drama, niche, and
educational shows are still being broadcast in Africa over radio (along
with the expected music, news, and talk shows). Though it's audio rather
than video and there a many companies in the "African Internet Radio"
business, radio might (eventually) be another appealing content source
for you.<p>Good Luck!
I wonder about the African part. African cultures, and languages, vary a lot. There is zero cultural crossover between Zulus, Marsai and Egyptians for example.<p>(I worked in Africa for a number of years)
I think one great thing about this is exposing non Africans to African content.<p>It will allow Americans (and others in the world) to learn more about actual modern African cultures. People might be surprised, hopefully not, how middle class Africans are not that different from middle classes of other ethnicities. Sure, there will be some cultural difference and there will be an accusation of Nigerian cultural imperialism, as their programming dominates, but so does Mexican culture on the rest of LatAm.<p>The programming may even prove to offer more authentic and aspirational programing to blacks everywhere bypassing hollywoods imprimatur --which can only be good.
I did an Ask HN over 500 days ago wondering why there weren't any specialized Netflix sites. It didn't get a lot of traction though there were a few answers.<p>I'm still waiting for a foreign film 'Netflix'...one day.<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6972071" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6972071</a>
I must point out that such a service exist, and it's one of the most successful startups out of Africa. It's called Irokotv, and at best afrosteam is a clone of this service. I was quite surprised the techcrunch article nor anyone else didn't mention them. Here's a 2013 article from techcrunch after Irokotv closed $8 million in another round of funding- <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/17/the-scramble-for-africa-continues-irokotv-closes-8m-to-be-the-netflix-of-africa/" rel="nofollow">http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/17/the-scramble-for-africa-con...</a>
Quite frankly, I am tired of the tag, Netflix of "insert region where Netflix doesn't operate".
I would like to know if the founders of Afrostream will deny to being a clone of Irokotv
The african channel that does not work in most of africa :-) No, I know it's hard to secure rights everywhere, but no streaming service works in <i>my</i> parts of africa.
Would pay for Netflix for Asian movies. They have some quite incredible flicks there, but without the language knowledge it's often hard to get access to them.
isn't it racist to clump Egyptian, south african, etc culture in the same genre just because of a continent or skin colour?<p>also, will it feature "zulu (1964)"? Or are we going to have random values besides the continent-culture-clumping thing?