A bootlegger’s festive streaming cheat sheet

An entire world exists outside the traditional subscriptions for content that we have become accustomed to using.

Ideally, this world would only include services such as DSTV Now, Netflix and Showmax. But with the expense that comes with subscriptions and data — along with the limit on shows available in South Africa — some consumers choose to make use of the not-so-legal routes.

Melissa: I use Netflix and pirate sites like gomovies, fmovies. The reason is that not everything is available on Netflix. They show limited content because of agreements with MultiChoice. DSTV has a monopoly on new series and other content. Netflix can show a new season of House of Cards immediately in the United States, but here we have to wait. If I could, I would watch all my series on Netflix. It’s simple, it downloads quickly, but I have to use pirated stuff. Because I’m on Twitter, everyone else is watching the new shows.

Michael: Yo, I used to subscribe to Netflix. It doesn’t have the quality of the US Netflix so I stopped. I don’t use Showmax. I’m busy. When I do watch, I stream online on sites like B Movies. I use fibre with a speed of about 20mbs, for R600 a month.

Simone: I use Netflix, chosen because it seems to offer the best range of content for the money spent. We are unlikely to consider an extra streaming option, because one seems like plenty. We don’t use location blockers, although we have thought about it to get access to more content, and that is something we will probably look into next year. We access streaming via fibre, which has been the catalyst in pushing us from traditional TV to online streaming. But I also pirate and download from Pirate Bay and torrent sites.

Siya: I watch Netflix. R150 a month for the last year and a half. Definitely value for money, but some of the shows are wack and old. I like the foreign films and foreign series options.

Otherwise I stream off platforms like gomoviez, putlocker, 123movies, watchtvseries.is

Don’t use any of the others. I use Tidal though, have a subscription. Best access to the latest shit, featured stuff like exclusive events for subscribers, exclusive shows, music videos, special content, artist playlists and mini docs. R140. It’s the couch potato scholarship.

Anelisa: I’m not a big series or movie watcher. My favourite series Big Bang Theory and The Fixer both air on DSTV and its Catch Up so I don’t really have to go anywhere else. I use Popcorn Time when I am not at home and am really bored. Also, I can use it to stream when

I’m in a wi-fi area and then rewind when I am not.

Ruth: I download off Putlocker and Popcorn Time. Before that I’d get stuff off my friends’ computers or watch DSTV, but not anymore. It’s full of repeats, not a lot of new stuff on. You kind of feel like you’re out of the loop of what everybody else is watching. Because people would be watching Stranger Things and all these new series and M-Net gets it much later. It’s such a mission to record. I ended up not watching a lot of stuff. Like repeats on Comedy Central and Friends and stuff. I recently moved out of home so we use a 50 gig limit per month router, which is R300 a month.

Although Netflix is clearly providing the best value for money for streaming on demand content, most people interviewed are still diehard bootleggers because of prohibitive data costs and the relative lack of availability of content when it comes to South Africa.