by Thinus Ferreira
Vodacom Video Play has become the latest video streaming service to bite the dust in South Africa, with the telecom that has pulled the plug on its multi-million rand streaming venture just short of seven years and getting out of the business of acquiring video content directly, rather letting consumers buy data and watch Netflix or any of the other rival local and international streamers.
Vodacom Video Play, which by the end of March 2019 had 869 000 active users and reached a high point of over 9 000 film and series titles in its content carousel, joins the video streaming scrapheap littered with tried-and-failed streamers in South Africa like Cell C black, VIDI, the Altech Node, MTN's FrontRow (later rebranded VU), PCCW Global's OnTapTV, Kwesé Play and Kwesé TV, and others.
South African video streamer customers have a growing flurry of remaining choices, ranging from Netflix SA, Disney+, MultiChoice's Showmax, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+, to TelkomONE, eMedia Investment's eVOD, PCCW Global's VIU, BritBox SA, Acorn TV and a few more.
Meanwhile, the South African public broadcaster plans to launch SABC+ around September this year, as Paramount+ is expected to debut in early 2023, and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) is expected to roll out its combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streamer at some point in South Africa as well, with NBCUniversal yet to bring Peacock to the country.
Vodacom had high aspirations for Video Play when it launched in August 2015, with the telecom that said it planned to add further linear TV channels and even its own set-top box. After adding The Bold and the Beautiful American daytime soap to Vodacom Video Play in October 2019, Vodacom said the content was "blowing the lights out".
In November 2020 Vodacom started to offer customers Amazon Prime Video for free for half a year, and in March 2021 Vodacom Video Play snagged its final big get by acquiring the rights to The Justice League Snyder Cut from WarnerMedia before Showmax or M-Net could get it.
After Vodacom pulled the Video Play app from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, and removed the Vodacom Video Play website, Vodacom told customers simply to "Please take note that as of 30 June 2022, this service will no longer be available".
Byron Kennedy, Vodacom spokesperson, confirmed to TVwithThinus that Video Play has been shuttered from 1 July 2022.
"From 1 July 2022, the Video Play service was decommissioned completely, meaning users can no longer access the service."
"Given the rapid evolution of
content streaming in recent times, Vodacom has taken a position to become an
enabler for consumers to access the growing demand for video and content
streaming through our add-to-bill capability and our VodaPay Super App."
"This
will enable customers to access quality SVOD services currently available in
the market. The move is also aligned to the VodaPay strategy, which promises
customers an all-in-one lifestyle marketplace."
Vodacom says it has "migrated all its Video
Play customers to a free-mode model, with the subscription functionality
decommissioned, meaning between the first quarter of 2021 up to 30 June 2022,
customers still enjoyed free content on the Video Play platform."
Vodacom didn't want to say what the company's multi-million rand investment in infrastructure, video streaming network set-up and content acquisition for Vodacom Video Play had been over the past seven years.
Vodacom says it started scaling down Vodacom Video Play in 2021. "It was a deliberate gradual decline in users as we implemented
our new strategy which included a move away from content acquisitions," says Byron Kennedy.
Will Vodacom be replaced by a new video streaming service, or is the telecom rather going to focus on supplying data for customers to watch services like Netflix SA or Amazon Prime Video on devices?
"The discontinuation of Video
Play is a strategic decision to no longer be an upfront purchaser of content in
keeping up with our launch of VodaPay, which is our lifestyle Super App where
we provide access to a variety of third-party content services, and products
from over 90 merchants."
"This will see Vodacom move to a
subscription service model which will offer our customers a variety of
subscription bundles for the large variety of local and global entertainment services
through our lifestyle app, VodaPay."
Vodacom says it will continue to offer customers access to other video streamers and services.
"Vodacom's move to a subscription
service model promises to offer customers a variety of subscription bundles
from a variety of local and international entertainment services offered
through the VodaPay Super App."
