SouthTel is planning on bringing TV viewers in South Africa and Southern Africa the first true video-on-demand (VOD) pay TV service from September when SouthTel will launch its VOD:TV decoders and VOD service giving TV viewers the choice to watch thousands of movies and TV series on demand before it appears on pay television.
''TV viewers will have to buy a VOD:TV branded decoder and pay for the installation. And of course the subscriber will have to pay for the specific movie or TV show,'' Oscar Dube, CEO and founder of SouthTel tells TV with Thinus, but promises that SouthTel's video-on-demand service ''will definitely be cheaper than pay TV''.
''We're looking at minimum cost. The specific pricing has not been decided but it will be cheaper than what people are currently paying for subscription television in South Africa.'' SouthTel's VOD:TV will launch through satellite in September in South Africa and 3 other Sadec countries in Southern Africa but the company will move to employ broadband in the future.
SouthTel's VOD:TV service plans to show the latest Hollywood movies and episodes of TV shows before it appears on MultiChoice's DStv, on pay broadcaster M-Net, or On Digital Media's (ODM) TopTV. It would also be possible for VOD:TV users to order a whole season of a TV series. ''The process is always first the movie theatre, then VOD, then DVD, then pay TV, then free-to-air. So SouthTel's VOD:TV will make movies available in the window right after the theatrical run, and just before pay TV,'' says Oscar Dube.
Asked what subscribers of VOD:TV will be able to order on demand, he says ''it will be most of the movies you would be able to see as if you've gone to the movie theatre. We've got access to basically whatever you would find in the video store.''
Oscar Dube says SouthTel has been working the past 2 years on launching the VOD:TV service. ''The biggest difficulty was the VOD:TV decoder. ''The various Hollywood studios all have to personally approve a decoder for video-on-demand services before they would allow any content to go through it. They're incredibly concerned about piracy and secirity issues, so they have to make sure decoders and distribution systems are security and piracy proof.''
SouthTel didn't deal with specific Hollywood studios to get movie and TV show rights for its VOD:TV service but is making use of a content management company that specialize in collectively securing access and video-on-demand rights. ''Instead of us [SouthTel] going to each and every one of the studios we're using a contents management company that collectively does that work and compile the content,'' says Oscar Dube. ''Viewers will be able to watch movies or purchase a season of a TV show to watch for a period of time.''
''Video-on-demand is the future,'' says Oscar Dube. ''The VOD:TV decoder will actually also give subscribers access to terrestrial television channels as well as the internet. You will get internet on TV. The VOD:TV decoder will come with a 3G internet dongle. VOD:TV will also make location based, targeted advertising possible. For the first time ever in South Africa targeted advertising will be possible on television. A local florist in a specific area would be able to run a trailer before a movie.''
M-Net - the past 25 years the first chance pay TV subscribers had of seeing movies after their theatrical run - did not immediately respond to media enquiries made this morning.
MultiChoice that's been testing its own VOD on television service with the working title of Box Office which I wrote about in September RIGHT HERE according to sources, very quickly responded to media enquiries this morning.
''MultiChoice welcomes competition in the pay TV market. We believe competition is good for the industry and for viewer choice,'' says MultiChoice. ''In terms of our own VOD services, MultiChoice is planning a number of exciting new initiatives this year. Watch the space!''
