Khobane will oversee the implementation of programming and marketing strategies for Prime Video Africa’s diverse content portfolio.
By Helena Olori
South African media executive, Gideon Khobane, has been named director for Amazon Prime Video operations in Africa.
His appointment aligns with Amazon’s long-term strategy to rapidly expand its subscriber base of over 500,000 across the continent. Although the Prime Video has been operational in Africa since 2016, only Nigeria has the local version of the streaming service launched in 2021.
According to a statement from the streamer, “Khobane’s new role signals Prime Video’s continued, long-term investment in sub-Saharan Africa, and commitment to creating a service that is diverse, attractive and engaging to all Prime Video members in the region.”
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The former CEO of SuperSport will join the Africa Originals team, headed by Ned Mitchell, the content acquisitions team led by Ayanna Lonian, and the product teams responsible for introducing new customer features, to foster the expansion of the Prime Video service throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including key markets such as South Africa and Nigeria.
Khobane will play a crucial role in curating a mix of original and exclusive TV series and movies for existing Prime Video members and to attract new customers in sub-Saharan Africa. He will oversee the implementation of programming and marketing strategies for Prime Video Africa’s diverse content portfolio including highly anticipated series like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Citadel, The Boys, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, and The Grand Tour.
Popular titles such as Air, Shotgun Wedding, and Die Hart as well as African originals like Gangs of Lagos, LOL: Last One Laughing Naija hosted by Basketmouth, and LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa hosted by Trevor Noah are part of the offering.
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In his new role, local acquisitions such as Brotherhood, King of Thieves, Battle on Buka Street, Sista, The Men’s Club, The Honeymoon, The Fury, Umbrella Man, and Atlantis, will also fall under his purview.
46-year-old Gideon Khobane boasts of an impressive career spanning 18 years in various roles within pay-TV and free-to-air broadcasters across Africa, his most recent role being the group executive overseeing general entertainment for the Multichoice Group. Prior to that, Khobane was CEO at SuperSport International and previously served as a channel director at M-Net. Khobane will continue to be based in South Africa while taking on his new role.