by Thinus Ferreira
The Walt Disney Company Africa is launching a limited mobile plan with MTN for Disney+ in South Africa at R49 per month.
Walt Disney's promo partnership with MTN in South Africa follows Vodacom's promo partnership with Amazon Prime Video and comes as global streamers like Netflix and Apple TV+ are furiously fighting for sign-ups in Africa's most developed streamer market where MultiChoice is also set to relaunch its Showmax offering at the end of the year in partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal.
MTN mobile subscribers who add Disney+ to their monthly bill or pay for it with airtime get 500MB of free data for streaming per month. A Disney+ mobile "entertainment pass" is also available at a cost of R59 for 2GB of streaming use data per month.
MTN and Disney+ SA's mobile plan is more limited than the normal Disney+ subscription of R139 per month, limiting a user to a single concurrent stream compared to the four of a normal subscription.
Only two devices can be logged into and use a Disney+ mobile-only subscription concurrently, compared to 10 for a normal Disney+ subscription, and Disney+ on the mobile plan doesn't allow Apple AirPlay or screencasting.
Content quality is capped at 480p for MTN's Disney+ mobile plan (as opposed to 4K or Ultra-HD of 2160p for Disney+ at R139.
"Plans are in development for further Disney+ offers for MTN customers," the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Jason Probert, MTN SA general manager for digital services, says "We are proud to enter into this agreement
with Disney+ as we collaborate to offer South Africans world-class entertainment on the go".
Christine Service, senior vice president and general manager of The Walt Disney Company, says "Disney+ joining forces with MTN gives South African subscribers another way to access our vast selection of blockbuster
films, iconic series and brand-new Disney+ Original titles at home or on the move, giving more streaming choices
than ever before".
