As a subscriber it's easier and more fun to tell people about the site because you can get your friends watching the same fun show with you without the barrier of them having to subscribe up front.
I guess it would be hard to stop people from using a feature like this to watch whatever they want without having to subscribe - but maybe a subscriber would only get a limited number of 'shares' that refresh when the sharee converts. That way someone who's sharing multiple shows with the same friend would have a limit but someone whose shares are bringing in new subscribers would be equipped to invite more and more people.
That applies to almost every startup ever. I expect that every founder can report hearing similar feedback.
I did omit one factor that differentiates this startup, but every startup has extra risks particular to it.
This sort of startup has three problems: a constant stream of content wrapped and delivered in a pretty multi-platform product, middlemaning the production of content by building networks of producers and talent or buying existing IP and also paying them upfront or hoping they take a gamble on your platform and get a piece visitor counts, and then also finding users for the site.
Each of those require some specialization.
In streaming content is king and over priced this day due to the ongoing war between Netflix / Disney / Amazon / Hulu ... and if you read through Afrostream postmortem, the main issue is that new subscribers consume all the content relevant to them in three month (so you always have to acquire more content). I read that you plan to commission indie content, but how do you plan you be able to keep up? Will you focus more on content that is fast / cheap to product : live shows / reality TV, or do you have an other idea in mind?
An unsolicited advice : If I was in your shoes, I would look at how to use deepfake to transform some content to fit your platform. For example, by trying to change some old cartoons, where licensing cost can be reduce, to match your niche taste. This will put you in a good position for the future of content war, if it ever go the way of fully generated content.