Capitec to resell discounted MultiChoice DStv Stream packages from November

by Thinus Ferreira

From November Capitec bank will also sell-through discounted DStv Stream packages in an expansion of its existing partnership with MultiChoice through which it is already offering its streaming service Showmax to consumers for cheaper.

Gerrie Fourie, Capitec CEO, during the bank's financial results presentation on Tuesday, revealed that Capitec will soon add another value-added service for Capitec clients in the form of discounted DStv Stream payments.

Capitec already sold almost 50 000 discounted Showmax vouchers since mid-August after it introduced the option, and will expand it to DStv Stream discounts from November.

Since mid-August Capitec has offered the Showmax Entertainment package on all devices for R49 per month.

In response to a media query MultiChoice tells TVwithThinus "When MultiChoice partnered with Capitec in August, it marked the start of a collaborative effort to offer greater value to our customers".

"The partnership has already provided Capitec clients with half-price Showmax subscriptions through the Capitec banking app."

"We're pleased to announce that from next month, Capitec clients will also benefit from discounted access to DStv Stream plans, giving them more ways to enjoy premium entertainment at a reduced cost. This partnership reflects our commitment to making quality content more accessible and affordable for all our customers. More details will follow soon."

ALSO READ: Capitec offers Showmax for R49 as MultiChoice increases consumer price pressure competition on rivals like Netflix.

MultiChoice's DStv Stream adds its Watch from Start in preparation for the launch of DStv Glass.

by Thinus Ferreira

Like what has been possible with DStv decoders, MultiChoice has now added "Watch from Start" functionality to its DStv Stream app, making it possible for subscribers to begin watching content that has already started.

The Watch from Start functionality is something that is available in Sky's smart TV known as Sky Glass that works with an internet connection and no need for a mounted satellite dish.

MultiChoice is on track to launch a localised version of Sky Glass, rebranded as DStv Glass, by the end of this year in South Africa which will have to incorporate this function as well, hence its addition to DStv Stream.

Like with traditional DStv decoders where subscribers can drag back the cursor in the buffer bar to go back to the beginning or another point in the timeline, Watch from Start allows users to restart any live event by clicking a button.

According to MultiChoice, the newly added functionality is designed "to provide subscribers with greater control and flexibility over their streaming experience".

MultiChoice says Watch from Start "is a first step in bringing full cloud PVR functionality - recording live events from any device, to watch later - to DStv Stream customers, who could previously only access this if they were a PVR decoder viewer".

The Watch from Start feature is currently available in South Africa and the Rest of Africa on iOS, Android mobile, web, Hisense, tvOS, and most Samsung TVs. MultiChoice says it will be rolling out on other platforms soon.

"Along with this is a new and improved version of the smart TV user interface (UI) including enhancements that have made the app simpler for the customer to use and navigate. These updates have been rolled out on LG, Samsung and Hisense and will also be rolled out to DStv's connected Streama device soon."

Rochani Steenkamp, executive head of DStv Stream Product, says "These features not only improve convenience but also allow our subscribers to enjoy their favourite shows and live events exactly how and when they want".

According to MultiChoice the navigation for mobile has also been reworked to help subscribers with content discovery in the main section of the app.

Daniel Courtenay, DStv Stream executive head, says "These are just the first in a list of innovative improvements on our road map for the year".

Thabo Bester, AKA and the Boks: What South Africa googled most in 2023.

by Thinus Ferreira

It's a Barbie world according to Google that revealed its most searched-for terms by South Africans during 2023 - a list also topped by searches about the sensational criminal Thabo Bester, rapper AKA who was murdered, as well as the country's national rugby team. 

Google South Africa released its annual 2023 Year in Search data, revealing that celebrities - some famous and some notorious - sports stars and sporting events once again dominated South Africans' searches online during the past year.

The year's Cricket and Rugby World Cups soared to the top of the most searched sporting events by South Africans this year, while the Springboks reigned supreme on the most searched athlete lists.

The Rugby World Cup and Inter Miami also captured significant interest, claiming the second and third spots on the lists respectively.

Among celebrities and media personalities who passed away this year, the rapper and producer Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA topped the search list after his horrific murder in Durban in February.

Another South African rapper Costantinos Tsobanoglou, better known as Costa Titch was the second most searched individual in the "loss" category. The category also included the Carte Blanche anchor Derek Watts, broadcaster Eusebius Mckaiser, and politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

After conquering the box office worldwide, the Barbie film soared to the top of South Africa's most searched movies and TV shows, followed by the biographical thriller film, Oppenheimer.

MultiChoice and M-Net's big-budget drama series Shaka Ilembe which made its first season debut on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) also made the most-searched list in the TV and film category in third place.

The notorious criminal Thabo Bester and media personality and popular DJ, Cyan Boujee were the top two most searched individuals in the country, with both appearing in headlines various times in the past 12 months. 

While South Africans were eager to know the dates of upcoming events like Father's Day, Mother's Day and the 2023 Rugby World Cup final, their online searches also revealed a diverse range of interests, including literary comparisons and health concerns.

"How is poetry different to other writing genres?" and "How are mumps spread?" were the top second and third top general questions that South Africans were searching for answers to. Interestingly, the most searched general question this year concerned Celine Dion's well-being.

In technology, people were interested in finding out more about MultiChoice's DStv Stream service which is watching the pay-TV operator's content without a satellite dish, the Titan disaster in June when a deep-sea submarine going to the Titanic imploded, as well as the new social media service Threads which launched as a competitor to X which was formerly known as Twitter.

 
Below are the full lists of top searches by South Africans in 2023:

Top 10 people searched in 2023
1. Thabo Bester
2. Cyan Boujee
3. Nadia Nakai
4. Dr Nandipha Magudumana
5. Andrew Tate
6. Derick Hougaard
7. Steve Harvey
8. Sim Dope
9. Anele Tembe
10. Tyla

Top searched Loss in 2023
1. AKA
2. Costa Titch
3. Matthew Perry
4. Tina Turner
5. Derek Watts
6. Titanic submarine
7. Zoleka Mandela
8. Mangosuthu Buthelezi
9. Christian Atsu
10. Eusebius Mckaiser
11. Olive Barker
12. Angie Oeh

Top 10 movies and TV shows searched in 2023

1. Barbie movie

2. Oppenheimer

3. Shaka Ilembe

4. John Wick 4

5. Fast X

6. Queen Charlotte Bridgerton

7. The Last of Us

8. Creed 3

9. Fatal Seduction

10. Kaleidoscope

Top 10 most searched athletes in 2023

1. Springboks

2. Siya Kolisi

3. Bongi Mbonambi

4. Faf de Klerk

5. Eben Etzebeth

6. Cheslin Kolbe

7. Ox Nche

8. Hakimi

9. Roger Federer

10. Ronaldo

Top 10 sporting events searched in 2023

1. Cricket world cup

2. Rugby world cup

3. Inter Miami

4. Banyana banyana

5. Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns

6. Wimbledon 2023

7. Liverpool vs Man United

8. Al nassr

9. Netball world cup

10. Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury

Top searches related to technology in 2023

1. DStv Stream

2. iPhone 15

3. Google's 25th birthday

4. Titanic submarine

5. Samsung 23

6. Samsung a14

7. Whatsappgb

8. Threads

DStv's Extra Stream: How it works and what it costs.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice has enabled an option for subscribers of DStv decoders to now pay for an additional online watch-stream called Extra Stream but it's not yet the Randburg-based company's solution to open back up its one-stream limit it imposed on DStv households.

After MultiChoice rebranded its streaming service from August as DStv Stream, which was previously also known as DStv Now, MultiChoice has now also added an additional new functionality it's calling Extra Stream.

DStv Stream is therefore now the name of MultiChoice's streaming app, while Extra Stream is a service that existing DStv subscribers can pay for and bolt on to their existing service.

Very importantly, DStv Extra Stream will not work on TV sets with MultiChoice that only allows an existing DStv subscriber or household to get one additional DStv stream for an additional fee, on a laptop, tablet or a mobile smartphone.

Extra Stream is not yet MultiChoice's answer to rework its imposed limit of just one concurrent online DStv stream per subscriber and household, which it introduced in February 2022 in an attempt to crack down on password sharing.

MultiChoice is still testing a so-called "DStv Home Base" setting that will allow members within a DStv household to get access to more than one DStv viewing stream simultaneously, closer to how it was before February 2022 and more in line with how overseas pay-TV operators and streamers like Netflix do it.

An Extra Stream costs R199 per month for DStv Premium, R149 for DStv Compact Plus, R99 for DStv Compact, R79 for DStv Family and R49 for DStv Access. DStv EasyView can't add Extra Stream. 

For the price, a DStv subscriber gets one additional internet stream with access to the same group of TV channels as through the DStv decoder, according to the subscriber's existing DStv bouquet.

With the launch of Extra Stream, MultiChoice has now also increased the number of registered devices allowed for streaming from four to 10, meaning that DStv subscribers can now allow up to 10 registered devices on which to stream DStv. 

However, the number of concurrent streams and the devices on which DStv can be streamed, is still dependent on a customer's bouquet level.

A DStv subscriber can add one Extra Stream per active DStv subscription.

"The Extra Stream is mobile-only, meaning it can only be used on a mobile device (mobile phone, laptop, monitor connected to a PC or a tablet). This is similar to how customers with decoders are able to add more viewers with XtraView," MultiChoice explains.

"Addition of an Extra Stream to your subscription allows you to increase the number of devices on which your subscription can be viewed at the same time - and allows streaming on two devices at the same time."

MultiChoice says that by adding an Extra Stream, a DStv subscriber would be able to "stream on two mobile devices at the same time, or stream on one TV and one mobile device" but that it's not allowing a customer to "stream to two TVs at the same time".

"The content on your Extra Stream is linked to your subscription and use of it, also linked to your subscription. If your subscription is disconnected for any reason, your Extra Stream is also disconnected."

ALSO READ: MultiChoice rebranding its DStv Now app as DStv Stream from August 2023 for some reason.

MultiChoice rebranding its DStv Now app as DStv Stream from August 2023 for some reason.

by Thinus Ferreira

From 1 August 2023 MultiChoice will be rebranding its DStv app as DStv Stream for reasons not yet known.

MultiChoice's DStv streaming app has also been known as DStv Now, DStv Catch Up and the generic DStv App. 

The reasons for the latest branding changes are not yet clear but it is taking place before MultiChoice's relaunch of its Showmax video streaming service at the end of 2023 together with Comcast and NBCUniversal.

I'm told that MultiChoice has tried to improve the content discovery process further with the DStv Stream rebrand - something that remains one of commercial video streaming's biggest hurdles.

Users of video streaming services frequently say that they're overwhelmed by swiping tiles, don't know what content or shows are about, where to find the content that they want to watch, and don't know how to get to what they might be interested in watching.

With the upcoming DStv Stream rebrand for its app, MultiChoice likely also wants to more clearly delineate the difference between DStv streaming - now DStv Stream from August - and Showmax, as separate services.

This will be especially important once Showmax 2.0 becomes operational and is launched by the end of this year.

MultiChoice said in its latest financial results report that the Randburg-based pay-TV operator intends to relaunch Showmax before the end of its next financial year, meaning the end of March 2024, but CEO Calvo Mawela has since clarified that MultiChoice has moved the relaunch date up and will now do so before the end of this calendar year, meaning before the end of December 2023.

By Friday afternoon there's been no press release or media statement from MultiChoice or its various PR agencies. MultiChoice was asked about DStv Stream on Friday and why the change is taking place. Comment will be added here when received.

On Friday, after reporting that the DStv app is getting rebranded as DStv Stream from 1 August, some DStv subscribers told TVwithThinus that they had actually received "emails" from MultiChoice about the upcoming DStv app change to DStv Stream which will be happening from August.

In an email send to DStv subscribers on Friday afternoon, Mawela wrote that "From the 1st of August your DStv app will now be called DStv Stream"

According to Calvo Mawela, the DStv Stream rebrand means "Better personalisation for you to discover content. Profiles for each family member. A smoother, simpler streaming experience. Change soundtracks to your local language where available."

"As a sport lover, my personal favourite is the league and tournament pages feature. They make following your favourite teams, cups and leagues so much more enjoyable, and this is just the beginning."

"We have so many exciting new features and experiences planned to enhance your enjoyment. Combined with more live sport than any other broadcaster in the world, Superfans like myself can kick back and enjoy the home of sport."

"I look forward to your feedback and hope you enjoy the updates to DStv, via our DStv Stream app. You will be able to enjoy these features with an update to your existing app from the 1st of August."

UPDATE Wednesday 2 August 2023 10:45am:

One of MultiChoice's PR agencies issued a press release on Tuesday 1 August which was sent only to some media.

"MultiChoice South Africa is excited to announce the launch of DStv Stream: our newly renovated home of entertainment. The all-inclusive entertainment platform continues to bring you the best sport, local and international content, anywhere," the press statement reads.

MultiChoice says DStv Stream will offer "Better personalisation for you to discover content in your profile, a smoother, simpler streaming experience" as well as the option to "Change soundtracks to your local language where available. This includes live sports commentary IsiZulu, isiXhosa, Portuguese, Afrikaans, and English."

"From the initial launch of the first decoder to pioneering digital satellite TV and now with DStv Stream, what drives innovation for us, is providing our customers with the content they love, in the way that’s best for them.” says Marc Jury, MultiChoice South Africa CEO.

"The launch of DStv Stream is just the start. As the home of entertainment, sport and local we will continue to deliver unrivalled value and choice for our customers. This way, every single South African can enjoy the magic of our content."

ALSO READ: Showmax 2.0: How MultiChoice will relaunch its streamer to battle Netflix with English Premier League, more global content and thousands of Comcast engineers.