Yet another leap for SA’s streaming revolution
BritBox and MTN join party to cash in on video on demand
● The launch of two new streaming options for South African consumers represents yet another leap for the streaming revolution in SA.
Coming amid cinema chain SterKinekor’s financial woes, the arrival of more competitors for consumer attention reaffirms the online entertainment shift.
This week MTN made its latest streaming move with an announcement by eMedia that it will launch an online viewing platform called eVOD in a three-year partnership with the mobile operator. In 2017, MTN shut its VU service after it failed to gain traction. Four years later, the market appears ready.
MTN SA will offer eVOD to 32-million customers, who will be able to watch dramas and movies on a mobile app developed by eMedia. Free and subscription models will be available, but paying subscribers will be allocated only 4GB of free data for the service.
“Entertainment and viewing have evolved with on-demand video,” said MTN chief digital officer Ernst Fonternel.
“We share the same belief that everyone deserves the benefit of connectivity and entertainment of their choice.”
And on Friday, British video-on-demand (VOD) service BritBox launched a channel that combines the content of two of the UK’s leading TV series producers, the BBC and ITV.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video has made massive inroads in SA, thanks to Vodacom offering it to customers as a free sixmonth promotion since late last year.
JustWatch, a global service tracking streaming services, says this has helped Amazon Prime Video draw level with Showmax in search inquiries, with each of the services “owning” the attention of a quarter of the market. Netflix remains well in the lead, with
35%.
Neale Dennett,
BritBox’s new markets launch director, said it is not necessary to wrest attention away from competing services.
“We don’t see
BritBox as an alternative to other streaming services and have seen elsewhere that streaming subscribers increasingly elect to subscribe to more than one VOD service.”
SA is the sixth global launch territory for BritBox, which is available in the UK, US, Canada and Australia, and has 2-million subscribers.
It was not only the common language that pushed SA to the head of the queue of other countries waiting for the service.
“From their experience of operating linear channels in SA, both ITV and BBC were aware of the strong demand for British programming, and interest in British on-screen talent, and that this has not been well served recently,” said Dennett.
“We think BritBox can deliver a really strong offering of recognisable favourites, plus new and exclusive programming.”
New titles include season 6 of the UK’s most-watched drama series of the 21st century so far, Line of Duty. The first five seasons are available on Netflix in SA, but the sixth season is unlikely to launch on the streaming giant, due to the arrival of BritBox.
Other new and coming series include Professor T, Wedding of the Century, Annika, Deadwater Fell, The Larkins and Up, and fresh seasons of favourites such as Manhunt.
BritBox CEO Reemah Sakaan said the company’s research shows an appetite among viewers from diverse backgrounds for premium British programming.
British TV and film have grown exponentially as a cultural export in recent years, with productions frequently scooping Baftas, Emmys and Oscars.
“Our TV is no longer niche but has come firmly into the mainstream, plus there’s a definite rise in nostalgia viewing, which is finding completely new audiences. It’s a rich time to be in British TV,” said Sakaan.
A seven-day free trial will allow South Africans to rediscover such classics as Blackadder, Absolutely Fabulous, Inspector Morse, Poldark and Fawlty Towers.
Dennett said more than 85% of the content on BritBox at launch will not be available on any other service in SA, and new and exclusive programming will continue to be added weekly.
Steven Cohen, founder of Future TV, which combines all paid streaming services into a packaged product for South Africans, said he believes the timing is perfect for BritBox, despite the plethora of options available.
“During lockdown the demand for Future TV increased 30% from the previous year,” he said.
“Most clients have Netflix fatigue and require greater content variety as online streaming increased.”
Cohen developed an aggregator platform on Future TV called The What’s New Channel, which offers a comprehensive guide to the top-rated series, movies and music available for streaming, updated daily. It offers 30 channels, both subscription-based and free, including six live news channels.
“I developed this app as there is so much to watch and many of my clients couldn’t recall which show is where. Future TV automatically updates all our client devices with new streaming channels as soon as they become available. Clients do not need to search for new channels and content as everything is automated.”
Because Future TV allows content creators, businesses, educational institutions and venues to distribute their own TV channel via television sets and mobile devices, it provides an insight into the categories of content that are in demand but not necessarily served by commercial streaming services.
“One of the biggest contributors to our increased demand stemmed from education institutions,” Cohen said.
Even the SABC has recognised the challenge posed by the shift to streaming, and in November last year teamed up with Telkom to launch the TelkomONE video-streaming platform.
In June it added free catch-up functionality across its SABC and other free-to-air channels.
A catch-up service has been available on the DStv streaming app for some years, but it is only available to paying subscribers, making this the first time a South African catch-up feature is provided at no cost to streaming viewers. Any SABC 1, 2, 3, SABC Sport or SABC Education show is accessible via the service on smartphones, laptops and PCs.
“You can’t get much better value than providing a zero-cost catch-up service across already-free streaming channels,” said Wanda Mkhize, executive for smartphone and content at Telkom.
“TelkomONE’s vision is to provide the widest selection of content, at the most affordable price, and backed by unmatched functionality.”
Mkhize said a growing catalogue of local TV “box set” shows was expected to exceed 1,200 hours soon, with full-length series on offer including Shaka Zulu and Bedford Wives.
Vodacom, too, is constantly adding to its streaming offerings. This week it launched an audio streaming service, Vodacom Sports Radio, which will provide live commentary of all 380 English Premier League soccer matches of the 2021/2022 season, starting this Friday.
Vodacom subscribers will have access to pre-match banter, post-game discussions, daily news updates, highlights packages, podcast content, and in-depth player and club information.
Mariam Cassim, chief officer of Vodacom financial & digital services, said: “Like many of our digital services, Vodacom Sports Radio’s mission is to democratise access to football to achieve inclusion for all fans.”