Supersport channels showcase new features
Gideon Khobane, the CEO of Supersport says that with the recent return of live sport, life is slowly getting back to normal. Khobane highlights that they are very elated to have international sports back as well as local football, and are looking forward to the return of Rugby. This development, he says means
that their viewers can sit at home with their families and enjoy their favourite sporting games. Khobane was speaking this past Friday during the MultiChoice Media Showcase. The
event was held at the Hilton Garden Inn Gaborone. The latest addition to the
Supersport family is the GrandStand Channel. The premium channel sits on 201 after Blitz, and will showcase the
best of the best live sport as it happens. ''What they have done is that in one day, viewers can find a Springbok Match as it happens or find a Tour De France".
explains Khobane.
“What we have done is that our team of editors are going to curate the very best sports as it happens live and put it on that channel, so that when you are sitting on that channel you know exactly what is the best content that is Happening at that specific moment," he
says.He also explains that they will use that channel to help with navigation. Breaking it down how the navigation will work, he says that while watching Channel 201, they will alert viewers about other events taking place in other Supersport channels.
Sport fans recently welcomed the
news that ESPN was returning to the DStv family. The partnership, he says, is
music to the ears of those who had been missing out on their favourite matches as they happened. He also notes that DStv prides itself on being the ultimate home of sports. He further explains that they had the very best sports in the world, and that what they didn’t have was American sports and that the Kings of American sports are ESPN.
“So, as MultiChoice and DStv we went out and established this partnership to ensure that those fans in Africa, who love the NBA or the NFL or the Superbowl and have an affinity
for American sport, have got a brand new home which is separate from the Supersport Channel,” says Khobane.
“I think that is a very important development for the history of our company,” adds Khobane.
Other developments to look forward to include an upgrade to the Supersport App, which will help with navigation and content discovery. For example, if you are a sports lover and want to know what time Rodger Federer is going to be playing Novak Djokovic, you can set a reminder on the App, and it will remind you five or fifteen minutes
before the big event.
“You can calibrate it yourself to say give me an hour’s reminder before the event starts so that I am back home. You can personalise it, and say Motshidisi loves rugby, tennis and cycling. So, you can make sure that the App is calibrated in such a sense that those three categories are upfront so that you know exactly what is happening in those sports that you have selected,”
he explains.
Khobane further notes that it is not a one size fits all, and that it has been
personalised to ensure that viewers get their reminders, scores and most importantly videos. Video, he explains, is very important as they have a great archive of content. In the unlikely event that a goal is scored, and a viewer is not in front of the television, they get a Notification that a goal has been scored.
Viewers can go to the App, and can view the replay of the goal.
In other news, he explains that their
recent switch from a numbering to a thematic channel system is a result of research with their customers, as well as research to see which channels were performing well. The first four
channels, he notes were doing well for them as viewers knew what to watch and when to watch.
But the rest of the content that they had, he says, such as Tennis, Motorsport, Gymnastics or swimming, it was not easy for viewers to know where to find.
“So for us to make everything easy and simple for viewers to find what they want to watch we have themed all channels. Rugby, Cricket will also have a permanent home. We will have a home for La Liga, Formula 1, Motor GPs, and it is really exciting for viewers at home and it make things easier for them to find what they are looking for."
he says. He also shares that in the event that there are no live matches, viewers can go back to these channels and find
repeats and documentaries. "This will increase customer satisfaction,” he says.