MTN FrontRow video-on-demand service rebranded as VU as its drops its prices to compete with ShowMax, ONTAPtv.com and VIDI.

MTN is rebranding its MTN FrontRow service as VU and dropping prices in a bid to try and lure more customers to its subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) service.

 

MTN FrontRow that is now VU (pronounced "view") is clinging on in a South African SVoD market quickly getting saturated and where broadband data costs remain stubbornly high and already claimed its first victim in the form of Altron's misguided Altech Node which became the first major failure.

 

Then there's The Times Media Group's VIDI that's already struggling after it launched at the end of last year with Tiso Blackstar that is disinvesting from the venture. 

Meanwhile Netflix is set to launch sometime in 2016 in South Africa. 

China's PCCW Global is operating the SVoD service ONTAPtv.com since September and Naspers' ShowMax that launched in August is expected to expand within months beyond South Africa's borders into other countries.

 

Besides the name change, MTN's VU that has content from six of the big Hollywood studios, is dropping its prices to now match rivals like ShowMax and ONTAPtv.com and all existing MTN FrontRow subscribers will be moved to VU.

 

VU streams content in standard definition (SD) and five devices can be linked to one VU account. VU subscribers can pay by credit card, have the amount due deducted from their prepaid airtime or bill it to their MTN account.

 

The new VU now has three packages: MaxVU (R99 per month), PremiereVU (no monthly subscription; individual movie rental ranging between R15 and R27), and WeekendVU (R39 per weekend, with access to movies rentals).

 

MTN rival Vodacom that is in talks with Netflix, is expected to announce its own VOD and integrated SVoD service within the first half of 2016.

ShowMax set to expand outside of South Africa in 2016 to 3 other continents; Naspers' VoD service signs distribution deal with Samsung and Telkom

Naspers' new video-on-demand (VoD) service ShowMax plans to go global and to expand outside of South Africa soon in 2016 into at least three other continents, the business news wire service Bloomberg reports.

Asked about ShowMax's global expansion plans and roll-out, the VoD service that launched in August told TVwithThinus it had no comment.

According to Bloomberg, ShowMax will launch in North America, across territories in Europe and in Australasia in 2016.

According to Bloomberg, ShowMax will make its video streaming service accessible outside of South Africa from next month by giving access to Afrikaans content from December, and will add West African content in 2016.

Netflix plans to launch in South Africa sometime during 2016.

At the moment in South Africa, ShowMax, Times Media Group's struggling VIDI, MTN's FrontRow and China's PCCW Global that launched  ONTAPtv.com in September are all competing against each other as VOD service.

Naspers’s fledgling video-on-demand (VOD) platform, ShowMax, will be expanded to three new continents in the coming year, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Samsung is meanwhile also silent about ShowMax's addition to its range of Smart TV's as an app.

ShowMax has signed distribution partnerships with Telkom and Samsung in South Africa and is also negotiating with Vodacom.

Yet another video-on-demand (VOD) service for South Africa, VuClip, launching as early as next week from China's PCCW.

Yet another video-on-demand (VOD) service will be launching soon in South Africa - very likely the orange VuClip this one from China's PCCW.

Bloomberg reports today that a new VOD service is likely to launch as early as next week as a rival to Naspers' ShowMax.

It's highly likely that its called VuClip.

The news comes a day after Viacom announced that its Viacom Play Plex video-on-demand app service will launch globally in the 4th quarter of this year and will also be available in South Africa with content from Nickelodeon, MTV, BET and Comedy Central.

With Viacom Play Plex, ShowMax, the Times Media Group's VIDI, MTN's FrontRow and PCCW's as yet unnamed service, it means that the VOD market in South Africa is quickly hotting up and getting crowded.

It's not clear what content PCCW's unnamed VOD service will launch with but it won't be as extensive or carry the large range of recent and premium titles as ShowMax which has shown up the rights to hot content like Game of Thrones and a lot other premium television for months.

PCCW, owned by the Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, will roll out the new VOD service as early as next week, Bloomberg reports.

PCCW has a majority stake in the mobile VOD service Vuclip and has aggressive plans to grow and take Vuclip into new markets, including Africa.

PCCW's VOD service has a vast catalogue of mostly Asian centric content - primarily Bollywood movies, but also Bollywood movies, shows and music videos.

The service has content in 25 languages, including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Indonesian Bahasa, Arabic, Malay and Thai which wouldn't be applicable for African and South African audiences.

Weber Shandwick's South African office is the PR company for PCCW Global in South Africa and last week send out an invitation - but only to some journalists covering the TV and IT industry and ignoring several - for the launch event next week of a new video-on-demand service.

It's already leaving journalists wondering where's the communication and who is supposed to talk about PCCW's new product - and why details are already leaking, just like what happened with ShowMax last month - way ahead of the media event and service launch that Weber Shandwick is supposedly organising.

BREAKING. Viacom's new global Viacom Play Plex to South Africa as latest video-on-demand app; will have new and library shows from all Viacom channels.

Viacom has unveiled Viacom Play Plex, a new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service it will roll at the end of the year globally, including South Africa, offering TV shows and programming from channels including Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and MTV through a mobile TV app.

Viacom Play Plex will debut in the 4th quarter of this year in 180 international territories in which Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) operates channels.

A spokesperson for VIMN Africa confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Viacom Play Plex will also be for South Africa.

"Viacom Play Plex will be available to pay-TV and mobile operators in South Africa and the rest of Africa from the fourth quarter of 2015," a spokesperson told TV with Thinus.

VIMN Africa is responsible for channels seen in South Africa and the rest of the continent like MTV Base, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and several BET channels on satellite pay-TV providers like MultiChoice's DStv and On Digital Media's (ODM) StarSat.

Viacom Play Plex will consist out of mobile apps for Android and iOS enabled devices which Viacom's distribution partners can offer to their customers.

Viacom Play Plex will become the latest VOD addition in South Africa where Naspers' ShowMax launched last month and where the Times Media Group's VIDI and MTN's FrontRow are trying to make inroads.

The global streaming service Netflix told TV with Thinus at the beginning of the year that it plans to be commercially operational in South Africa before the end of 2016.

Viacom Play Plex will be offering access to a range of current and library content, as well as a live, localised linear stream of Nick Play curated from Nickelodeon specifically for every territory. Nick Play is the current Nick app which is being rebranded as Nick Play.

All of VIMN's channel brands from MTV and Nickelodeon to BET and Comedy Central will funnel content to Viacom Play Plex.

"Viacom Play Plex offers us maximum flexibility in distributing our content as the way viewers consume their favorite TV shows continues to evolve," says VIMN president and CEO Bob Bakish.

"These apps are designed to complement our linear pay TV channels and to allow our existing distribution partners to deepen and improve the entertainment experience they offer their subscribers."

"We believe no other international entertainment company is offering this type of innovation at this scale, serving every major demographic in every major TV market," says Bob Bakish.

ShowMax to launch in South Africa as a Netflix competitor with free ShowMax Basic and ShowMax Premium for R99 per month.

ShowMax, South Africa's answer to Netflix, will likely launch with a limited free version called ShowMax Basic and ShowMax Premium costing R99 per month.

The launch of ShowMax – will officially be announced on Wednesday in Johannesburg, with the service set to start shortly thereafter.

ShowMax is Naspers' attempt to get traction and a foothold in the over-the-top (OTT) subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market in South Africa before the coming launch of global on-demand video internet subscription service behemoth Netflix.

While Naspers has remained silent and PR company Atmosphere Communications handling the ShowMax contract hasn't issued any information to the press, information is already leaking impacting the new brand – the word ShowMax apparently an amalgam of the names Showtime and Cinemax both known as premium TV providers in America.

According to the cached information on ShowMax's website at showmax.com and which might still change, the service will launch with two options: ShowMax Basic which will be a limited free subscription service which will give users a taste of the ShowMax library and try to upsell them to tho the second option – ShowMax Premium at what will likely cost R99 per month for unlimited access to all movies and series.

The service will only be available in South Africa at launch with possible expansion into the rest of Africa later.

ShowMax will also be offering a 7 day trial period. People who sign up will get 7 days to try the service and can cancel anytime. ShowMax has categories like Hollywood, Best of British, kykNET, South African content and Kids.

Showmax' cost of R99 – a psychological consumer number – is interestingly compared to the basic monthly subscription fee of R699 for MultiChoice's DStv Premium package. In America Netflix and Amazon subscribers pay around $10 for the streaming service, compared to between $80 and $90 per month for a premium satellite or cable pay-TV service.

‘The face of entertainment is changing’

ShowMax is set to show content through adaptive streaming in high definition (HD) (720p). 

ShowMax says subscribers should have a minimum internet speed of 2 megabits per second (Mbps) but that an uncapped 4Mbps connection or faster is recommended for the best experience.

Viewing is unlimited, but ShowMax is warning that the use of the service is subject to fair usage – although it’s not currently explaining what "fair usage" means.

"The digital experience gives you the freedom to choose when, where and how you watch. The face of entertainment is changing, and you can be part of it," says ShowMax.

According to the indexed site, ShowMax will work on personal computers (through web browsers), iPhones and iPad running iOS7 and higher, Android phones and tablet running Andriod 4.1.0 or higher; Samsung Smart TVs from 2012 to 2015, Samsung Tizen Smart TVs from 2015, LG NetCast Smart TVs from 2012 – 2014 and LG WebOS Smart TVs from 2014 and 2015.

ShowMax subscribers will likely be allowed to watch on two devices simultaneously and will be allowed to register up to 5 devices.

Shows from BBC, SABC, M-Net, international studios

Naspers has culled a massive number of locally produced shows from pay-TV broadcaster M-Net's archives which will be offered to subscribers ranging from M-Net (DStv 101), Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) to kykNET (DStv 144) shows on offer.

Besides programming from BBC Worldwide which has been seen on MultiChoice's BBC channels on DStv like Frozen Planet, a large number of programmes from the SABC archives also appear which will also be available for streaming through the subscription service – some iconic programmes from the public broadcaster like Skoppensboer, Gazette, Vyfster, Agter Elke Man, Arende and several more.

Besides library cult titles like True Blood, ShowMax also features a large number of international shows currently on M-Net, from Arrow and Grey’s Anatomy, The Good Wife and The Big Bang Theory to Suits, Under the Dome, Elementary, Chicago Fire, Teen Wolf and many others.

"See it as the new M-Net but for the internet age," a source told TV with Thinus earlier this week.

"A lot of the prime content that will be on ShowMax people can already see on DStv but it will be a new way for customers to watch. Also the economic model is different – the service is more about enabling people to really go for binge-watching and things a SVOD player are better at than traditional pay-TV operators," said the insider.

ShowMax will be new competition in the growing local VOD field where the Times Media Group runs VIDI, MTN has its FrontRow service which just lowered some of its prices, MultiChoice has DStv BoxOffice and Altron last year launched the flopped Altech Node decoder which it is now getting rid of.