DEVELOPING. Niclas Ekdahl out as MultiChoice Connected Video CEO after less than 2 years and before pay-TV operator is supposed to launch a flurry of DStv internet-connected streaming services.

by Thinus Ferreira

I'm told that Niclas Ekdahl, MultiChoice Connected Video CEO, is out and has resigned from the pay-TV operator less than 2 years after he took the job, over "personal interests".

MultiChoice on Tuesday night in response to a late-night media enquiry from TVwithThinus confirmed Niclas Ekdahl's exit and said that Yolisa Phahle, currently CEO of general entertainment at MultiChoice, will take over Niclas Ekdahl's responsibilities as well for the time being.

Niclas Ekdahl joined MultiChoice in September 2018 and his resignation - without any announcement from MultiChoice - comes just a week after MultiChoice's video streaming service Showmax launched Showmax Pro as a folded-in sports content differentiator service supplied by SuperSport.

Niclas Ekdahl leaving comes before MultiChoice is supposed to roll out its so-called "DStv dishless" service, DStv Streaming, similar to its current DStv offering but not requiring installation or a physical satellite dish.

MultiChoice is also supposed to launch a new DStv Explora that will add the capability to deliver and will carry subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Joe Heshu, MultiChoice's group executive for corporate affairs, told TVwithThinus that "We can confirm that Connected Video CEO Niclas Ekdahl has decided to leave the MultiChoice Group to pursue personal interests".

"We are grateful for his contribution in which he oversaw the growth of the Showmax and DStv Now platforms. We wish Niclas well in his future endeavours.  Yolisa Phahle will now take over the leadership of our Connected Video business in addition to general entertainment."

Asked how Niclas Ekdahl's absence will influence or impact on MultiChoice existing plans, research and development and service roll-outs, Joe Heshu said that "the work of our Connected Video business unit continues".

After 3 months Showmax removes and ends the streaming of live linear TV news channels on the video streaming service.

by Thinus Ferreira

Showmax has ended and removed the live-streamed linear TV news channels and the educational Mindset Pop TV channel that MultiChoice's subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) added in late-March.

Showmax removed the set of linear TV news channels that it added on 26 March 2020 for users in South Africa and Southern Africa because of the growing Covid-19 pandemic that keeps expanding around the world with the coronavirus that keeps infecting more and more people in Africa, South Africa and around the world.

Showmax made BBC World News, CNN International, Sky News, Al Jazeera, euronews and Newzroom Africa available for 3 months that it removed on 30 June 2020. South African users of Showmax also got access to SABC News and africanews as live linear TV news channels.

Showmax originally announced that it would axe the live TV news channels at the end of May 2020 but extended it for June.

"We were given access to these channels as a temporary measure in the early days of the Covid-19 crisis in order to help everyone keep up-to-date on the latest developments," says Showmax.

"As lockdown is now easing and we’re slowly getting back to some kind of new normal, we're going to be discontinuing the news service. The Mindset Pop channel, which was added to help parents while schools were closed, will also be leaving Showmax."

"We’ll keep an eye on developments and, if the circumstances change, we’ll do our best to step in again."

MultiChoice is working and planning the launch of its DStv Streaming service that will carry the same collection of live linear TV news channels, very much like the existing DStv Now offering.

This so-called "DStv dishless" version will be a web-based look-alike version of DStv but not requiring any installation.

This is how MultiChoice changed its 2019/2020 financial results presentation in which it first revealed that it is adding Netflix and Amazon Prime Video ... and then deleted and altered its presentation.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice in its 2019/2020 financial results presentation first revealed that it will add Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in the year ahead, then deleted it - and then awkwardly lied about having revealed it. This is how it happened:

In its 2019/2020 financial results presentation that MultiChoice published earlier this month, the pay-TV operator first revealed that it will be adding both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video as over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services besides launching DStv Streaming as its new internet stand-alone DStv look-alike service.

After this financial results presentation revelation, MultiChoice awkwardly deleted and altered its official presentation that it had already published on its website.

After that, in interviews, MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela when asked about it specifically, lied to the media about it and the fact that MultiChoice did make this information available itself, when he was questioned about the upcoming partnerships.

When MultiChoice announced its 2019/2020 financial results, TVwithThinus through its PR company Aprio that does corporate communication, requested an interview on 11 June with a MultiChoice executive like Tim Jacobs, MultiChoice's chief financial officer (CFO).

Aprio responded and said it "will get back to you soonest".

Aprio didn't.

On 16 June, after almost a week had gone by without any response, Aprio was again asked about the possibility of a 5-minute interview regarding the streaming services deals that were signed and how it works.

Aprio, without knowing what the questions would be, and after days had gone by, said that it's "unable to provide you with an interview right now". 

When MultiChoice published its 2019/2020 financial presentation it revealed that it had signed deals with two video streaming services and showed that it was Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, including their names and logos.

MultiChoice, possibly alarmed about the massive mistake it made, then rushed to altered its 2019/2020 financial presentation after publication.

MultiChoice deleted the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video references, and altered how its official financial presentation done for investors, looked but did so in a very rushed and bad way.

MultiChoice didn't add any advisory or notification for investors or the media that it had deleted and altered its original 2019/2020 financial presentation, although questions about and reporting about the video streaming deals completely overshadowed coverage of MultiChoice's annual financial report because of what the presentation originally contained.

While MultiChoice didn't want to make anyone available to talk to TVwithThinus, MultiChoice executives were made available for interviews elsewhere.

Business Day TV (DStv 412) in an interview with Calvo Mawela asked "you've signed a deal with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to bring their services using a high-end DStv Explora PVR".

Calvo Mawela responded: "Let me start by just qualifying it. We made a statement that there are 2 OTT players that we have signed agreements with".

On CNBC Africa (DStv 410) in an interview Calvo Mawela lied and said "we have not confirmed which are the two OTT players that we are bringing onto our platform. We have announced that there are 2 OTT that are coming onto our platform".

He said that "once we are ready we will announce who are those 2 players that are going to be on our platform".

In an interview with TechCentral, Tim Jacobs said that the included Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in the financial presentation "were there only as examples of international streaming companies".

In an interview with MyBroadband, Tim Jacobs used the excuse that MultiChoice is "in a pre-release embargo period with both of these international players" and therefore can't release brand names.

In an interview on The Money Show with Bruce Whitfield on CapeTalk and 702 radio, Tim Jacobs was also asked to "talk about Netflix and Amazon and integrating those into new DStv Explora decoders".

Tim Jacobs said that MultiChoice has signed agreements with 2 subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) providers "without naming who those providers are".


ALSO READ: MultiChoice to add Netflix and Amazon Video Prime as video streamers, now reaches 19.5 million subscribers.
ALSO READ: EXPLAINER. How and why MultiChoice by adding video streamers to its DStv offering is finally pivoting into becoming a pay-TV Sweets from Heaven.  
ALSO READ: MultiChoice wants to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for TV content, next DStv Explora will provide access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video OTT streamers.

MultiChoice wants to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for TV content, next DStv Explora will provide access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video OTT streamers.

by Thinus Ferreira

MultiChoice's new DStv Explora decoder will be the first that will have the "shelf space" capability and come with a carousel user interface display incorporating icon tiles for the Netflix and Amazon Prime Video streamers as DStv morphs into a pay-TV super-aggregator and a content "one-stop shop" that will carry even more such third-party services in future.

Besides the launch of DStv Streaming, MultiChoice's "dishless DStv" digital streaming version of its current service that won't require the use of a satellite disk or installation, MultiChoice also plans to push a new DStv Explora decoder to market later this year that will be its first to carry and make over-the-top (OTT) services available to DStv subscribers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa in the form of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Talking about content, Imtiaz Patel, MultiChoice Group chairperson, on Thursday in the Randburg-based pay-TV operator's investors' call following the release of its 2019/2020 financial results, said that "the multitude of offerings are leaving customers overwhelmed with what is called the paradox of choice and the need for greater simplicity".

"It is where we see the opportunity to continue our aggregator journey. We broadcast and stream our own compelling local and international sport content and also make third-party streaming services available on our platform."

"All of this is to be found on a single platform, with a single bill that provides convenience and choice to our customers through a one-stop shop."

Explaining how the Randburg-based pay-TV operator's own subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service Showmax will sit alongside that of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and likely even more in future like YouTube, Disney+, HBO Max and others, Imtiaz Patel said that "local content and sport will be a key differentiator for Showmax and niche and general entertainment content from other providers will offer our customers more choice".

"Ultimately it enhances the customer relationship, it provides simplicity, convenience and a more comprehensive offering for our customers.

Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO, on the investors' call said that it had to take the opportunity to "become the platform of choice for people to consume these OTT services".

"People will go for where content is available. With the proliferation of all of these OTT's there are people who want to get access to this content and if we are a one-stop shop where they can get all these services we'll be positioned very well in the market for us to gain customers out there."

In terms of DStv set-top boxes and the timing of the roll-out, he said MultiChoice is in discussions with the distributors on how to launch. "There will be a new decoder that will be coming to the market that will be able to allow this kind of services to be accessible through the decoder. Our current decoders do not support this."

"The next version of our DStv Explora decoder is the one that is going to accommodate the OTT's on our platform," said Calvo Mawela.

He said that in the year ahead MultiChoice plans to "ramp up our investment in local content" and that "we will also be launching our OTT premium product, DStv Streaming, and focus on growing our paying Showmax subscriber base".

Talking about the strategy of adding video streamers he said that it will ensure that MultiChoice "continues to be a one-stop shop where people go through us to get content - no matter where it comes from - from any of the OTT players that are coming to the market. In that way we make sure that we remain relevant and that people find the convenience of paying just one bill".

"We also should not underestimate our ability to collect payment and to collect cash across the African continent - that also helps with the OTT's staying with us on our platform."

"We've had learnings from the United States and Europe where traditional pay-TV operators like ourselves have brought OTT services onto their platforms and they have improved service to their customers and customers have valued these initiatives."

One bill and possibly cheaper bundling
In terms of how customers will sign up and use Netflix and Amazon Prime Video MultiChoice didn't provide any details but looking at the tie-up operating model between pay-TV operators and video streamers as it has been introduced and used in America, the United Kingdom, Europe and elsewhere, MultiChoice will get revenue in the form of commission for DStv subscribers who sign up and make use of these OTT services through MultiChoice.

Consumers with existing Netflix and Amazon Prime Video accounts will very likely be able to log in as normal through DStv to access these specific streaming services.

Existing DStv subscribers who want to become new customers and users will however be able to easily sign up and access (or deactivate) one or more of these services by simply adding the fee to their existing MultiChoice bill, and paying one overall bill, in rand, at the end of the month, instead of to multiple providers.

MultiChoice and M-Net have been following a lot of the modus operandi of the UK's Sky pay-TV operator and will likely do so again when its new DStv Explora is launched.

Sky's Sky Q decoder launched in November 2018 and capable of 4K UHD resolution has OTT services like Netflix, Spotify and YouTube neatly stacked and showcased in tiles on the homepage.

Similar to how MultiChoice has bundled Showmax for free for DStv Premium subscribers it might likely do with Netflix as well.

Through creating a DStv-Netflix, DStv-Amazon or DStv-Netflix-Amazon package with the streamers - either being included for free initially or at a discounted promotional price, as part of an incentive to restore value to DStv Premium or to drive sampling and uptake - MultiChoice will be able to offer subscribers DStv and video streamers in a combined package at a cheaper price than if someone paid for DStv separately and Netflix and Amazon Prime Video separately.

Sky, for instance, started a new bouquet, Sky Ultimate, bundling the best of its own content, with Netflix, at a cheaper price than if a subscriber paid separately for a Sky subscription and a Netflix subscription.


ALSO READ: MultiChoice to add Netflix and Amazon Video Prime as video streamers, now reaches 19.5 million subscribers.
ALSO READ: EXPLAINER. How and why MultiChoice by adding video streamers to its DStv offering is finally pivoting into becoming a pay-TV Sweets from Heaven.  
ALSO READ: This is how MultiChoice changed its 2019/2020 financial results presentation in which it first revealed that it is adding Netflix and Amazon Prime Video ... and then deleted and altered its presentation.