Huawei Video launches in South Africa as the latest video streaming service, now looks to add local South African content.

by Thinus Ferreira

Huawei Video is the latest subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service that has launched in South Africa with the video streamer now offering 10 000 hours of content and 30 million short clips and now looking for local South African content to add to the service.

Huawei Video joins a crowded list of locally available streaming services all competing for a very small but growing consumer base of people with devices and the willingness to pay for data and subscriptions to Netflix, MultiChoice's Showmax and DStv Now, PCCW Media's VIU, DEOD, VodacomVideo Play, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Acorn TV.

At the end of December Cell C's Cell C black became the latest SVOD entrant to shutter in South Africa after billions were invested with disappointing user and subscriber numbers.

The Chinese manufacturer launched Huawei Video in the Middle East and Europe on its mobile devices and now offers South African consumers video streaming content from films and TV shows to news, sports and documentaries. Huawei Video says new titles will be added on a weekly basis.

A "free area" offers some news as well as factual and entertainment programming without charge. Some of the free content include BBC News, "Toon Toggles" that is a selection of cartoons and live-action, as well as short video clips from DailyMotion.

Huawei says it will now look to include local South African content on the video streamer that will resonate with and that will be aligned with the South African market.

According to the service Huawei Video "enables a seamless watching experience with a guaranteed playback, zero waiting time and enhanced video colour and sharpness. Even if the network is unstable, video fluency can be improved. The Huawei Video feature reduces up to a 60%-bitrate with the same image quality, thus saving bandwidth".

The Huawei Video Player interface offers customisation with users who can create a favourite videos section and set parental controls. Content can be downloaded to view offline later.

"We are really excited about the launch of this new product," says Likun Zhao, vice president of the Huawei consumer business group for Africa and the Middle East, in a prepared statement.

"Thanks to our new partners joining the Huawei Video ecosystem, we will be able to offer an even wider range of content in new formats and display modes, which will help us to rewrite the rules of the market. We are proud to offer such a competitive, high-quality service and hope to welcome even more important partners in the future," says Linkun Zhao.