Prime Video Africa hires Multichoice alum Gideon Khobane as director

Gideon Khobane

Amazon Prime Video has hired former MultiChoice exec Gideon Khobane to lead its efforts in Africa.

Khobane becomes director of Prime Video Africa and will work across Ned Mitchell’s originals team, Ayanna Ionian’s acquisitions unit and the product division.

He will oversee local originals and acquisitions, with a remit that covers sub-Saharan Africa, including South Africa and Nigeria.

Khobane was most recently in charge of entertainment at South Africa-based MultiChoice and was also previously channel director at M-Net and CEO at SuperSport International.

Prime Video’s African output includes two regional versions of comedy format LOL, with LOL: Last One Laughing Naija and LOL: Last One Laughing South Africa, which marked the country’s first local original. Other shows include drama Gangs Of Lagos, while acquisitions include Brotherhood and King Of Thieves.

It is the latest bolstering of Amazon’s exec ranks. Late last year, the company’s Amazon Studios arm made several new appointments across its local originals development team for South Africa and Nigeria.

Kaye Ann Williams was named head of original scripted & movies for South Africa, while Brendan Gabriel was appointed senior unscripted creative executive for the country. In Nigeria, Kemi Lala Akindoju became senior movies creative executive and Mike-Steve Adeleye took the senior scripted creative executive role, with responsibility for finding and developing the next African originals for Prime Video locally and internationally.