by Thinus Ferreira
MultiChoice has added YouTube as another video streaming app to its DStv Explora Ultra decoder alongside Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showmax and DStv BoxOffice.
Some of the world's biggest new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Disney+ and HBO Max remain unavailable, very likely due to existing multi-year content output deals that MultiChoice and M-Net have with The Walt Disney Company and WarnerMedia that will first have to expire.
The YouTube app can be accessed by selecting the Apps button on the DStv remote control.
"DStv subscribers can now watch YouTube, where every day people watch over a billion hours of video, including music videos, short and documentary films, live streams and video blogs," says Nyiko Shiburi, MultiChoice South Africa CEO.
"The addition of YouTube to the DStv Explora Ultra builds on DStv’s ambition to be a one-stop video entertainment hub, giving our customers more convenience and choice to access local and international content on a single device," says Nyiko Shiburi.
With the DStv Explora Ultra's Discovery And Launch protocol, viewers can play YouTube videos from a second device, for instance a smartphone, directly on a TV screen connected to the decoder, without any pairing process that is required.
MultiChoice says that "This makes it easier to watch shared or archived content from a secondary device of choice".
Alex Okosi, managing director for YouTube for emerging markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), says that "Joining DStv Explora Ultra will enable subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa, one of our fastest growing markets, to watch the millions of
hours of amazing content from Africa and around the world on YouTube".
