eMedia to continue content spend on eVOD driven by eOriginals and Afrikaans-Turkish novelas as Openview that accounts for quarter of ad revenue reaches 3.2 activations.

by Thinus Ferreira

eMedia's Openview which now brings in a quarter of its total ad revenue is on the cusp of being in 3.2 million TV households with TV ratings up for its various e-packaged channels, while it will continue to invest in eOriginals and Afrikaans-dubbed Turkish telenovelas which are the main subscriber drivers of its eVOD video streamer.

eMedia Holdings published its annual financial results for the year ending 31 March 2023 on Thursday, noting that there's been an improvement in the TV ratings of the other six e-packaged linear TV channels produced by the group.

According to eMedia, the eExtra, eMovies Extra and eReality channels rank in the top 15 of all satellite channels available in South Africa, with eMedia planning to launch a few more new TV channels on Openview in the next financial year.

Openview

According to eMedia, Openview now accounts for almost a quarter of eMedia's entire advertising revenue.

"This direct-to-home (DTH) unit of the business accounted for 23.8% of the advertising revenue amounting to R501.3 million which is up from R468.7 million in the previous year," eMedia says.

The company notes that "Despite difficult trading conditions in the form of 282 days of load shedding, which have had a direct impact on TV viewing, the group is satisfied with the financial performance."

"The available revenue for TV was impacted so much so that it has resulted in a reduction of almost R500 million in advertising revenue to the industry."

eMedia says  Openview set-top box activations for the year amounted to 513 840, taking the number of activated set-top boxes to 3 166 461. eMedia doesn't specify how many of the almost 3.2 activated Openview boxes remain active and in use.

As it did during its previous financial report, eMedia once again said that it plans to bring a next upgraded phase of Openview STBs to the market, which will be "a smarter set-top box which will have memory facilities and Wi-Fi capability".

MultiChoice carriage fight

eMedia says its squabble with MultiChoice over four e-packaged TV channels it provides to the Randburg-based pay-TV operator is ongoing, noting that the case "is still under investigation by the Competition Commission after non-renewal of the channel carriage agreement".

eMedia says that these TV channels remain on MultiChoice's DStv for the time being, since a ruling is still pending from the Competition Commission.

eVOD driven by eOriginals and Afrikaans-Turkish novelas

eMedia's video streaming service eVOD is now a year old and the company says it has been "well-accepted in its target market".

eVOD battles the flurry of video streamers available in South Africa, ranging from MultiChoice's Showmax and Netflix, to Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, SABC+ and VIU.

eMedia doesn't want to reveal subscriber numbers but says "The number of registered viewers to date has been very encouraging with the average daily minutes viewed in excess of 1.5 million."

"The eOriginals offering, together with the Afrikaans Turkish telenovellas on eVOD is the leading audience generator on eVOD making the group bullish about investing a further R100 million per annum in local original content which will be amortised across the group's platforms and channels. To date the group has added 73 hours of original content to its slate."

Openview Ultra

While eMedia launched Openview Ultra with a gay bouquet and a Bollywood bouquet of pay-TV channels, it happened less than a month before the end of eMedia's financial year this year, with eMedia not yet saying anything regarding its uptake and performance.

e.tv

Regarding its commercial free-to-air TV channel, e.tv, eMedia says that the "prime-time market share for e.tv has shown a slight decrease to 21.4% audience share".  eMedia blames Eskom's ongoing electricity blackouts known as "load-shedding".

"The continued load-shedding has seen a change in viewer patterns and this has seen an impact on some of the shows."

eMedia says that Scandal! and House of Zwide continue to have a demanding market share in their respective timeslots. 

"e.tv continues to face the impact of the uncertainty of the imminent analogue switch-off facing the country but the group is confident that the audience share will be carefully managed. At present the group is once again engaging with the department of communication in relation to the switch-off date with e.tv stating that too many ordinary South Africans will remain without TV with a hard switch-off."

ALSO READ: eMedia extends channel carriage agreement for a further 5 years with MultiChoice for eNCA on DStv until mid-2028 but accepts carriage fee cut.

e.tv enters traditional pay-TV space with new Openview Ultra service, launches Pride gay bouquet at R75 monthly.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv is taking on MultiChoice's DStv and StarSat with its own pay-TV service and will launch its Openview Ultra on 6 March with a gay bouquet of R75 and promising more pay-TV channels will be added.

The move represents South Africa's biggest traditional pay-TV market shake-up in decades with e.tv that also runs its eVOD streaming service, no longer content to be boxed in as a linear pay-TV channel supplier where it's often at the mercy of satellite operators.

For R74.99 per month, existing Openview viewers will be able to access Openview Ultra and its so-called "Pride" bouquet.

The Pride bouquet consists of the OUTtv and FUSE channels, featuring a variety of LGBTQI series like the GoGo for Gold reality series, documentaries, telenovelas, gay romcoms, films, and OUT originals. MultiChoice tested OUTtv that in 2018 as a DStv pop-up channel but eventually decided against it as a permanent addition. 

Besides the gay bouquet, eMedia also plans to add a so-called "Spice" bouquet of two Bollywood channels which won't be available at the launch of Openview Ultra but is being finalised.

eMedia says Openview consumers will be able to do a free 3-day trial of Openview Ultra, after which a monthly fee will apply. Subscribers will have the option of cancelling the subscription at any time.

"The Openview ground-breaking innovation allows viewers to experience exclusive content at their discretion, and opens new worlds of viewing by catering to all audiences," eMedia says.

With Openview Ultra, eMedia is taking on South Africa's duopoly pay-TV market which has been dominated for decades by MultiChoice's DStv and the much smaller StarSat from China's StarTimes.

Openview Ultra as a subscription version of eMedia's existing Openview free-to-air satellite TV decoders, will function through three existing models of the existing Openview set-top box (STB).

By September 2022, Openview - growing by 500 00 activations per year - was already present in over 3 million homes across Southern Africa. 

It means that enabling pay-TV functionality and giving those 3 million users the option to become subscribers, would instantly transform eMedia's Hyde Park-based Openview Ultra into the biggest traditional pay-TV rival in South Africa to the existing Randburg-based MultiChoice.

South Africa's broadcasting regulator Icasa granted e.tv a traditional pay-TV licence 16 years ago in 2007 under the banner e.Sat which it decided never to use.

Instead, it opted to become a TV channel supplier, for instance producing the eNCA (DStv 403) TV news channel for MultiChoice since 2008, and offering DStv other general entertainment channels as well.

ALSO READ: e.tv to launch Openview Ultra as a pay-TV service with Bollywood and gay bouquets.

e.tv to launch Openview Ultra as a pay-TV service with Bollywood and gay bouquets.

by Thinus Ferreira

e.tv is testing and putting the finishing touches on Openview Ultra as a new satellite pay-TV service which eMedia plans to launch soon and which will represent South Africa's biggest traditional pay-TV market shake-up in decades.

Openview Ultra will launch with two pay-TV bouquets: a gay bouquet carrying LGBTQ content, called the "Pride Bouquet", as well as a Bollywood bouquet branded the "Spice Bouquet".

Openview Ultra's Pride Bouquet will include TV channels like the lifestyle and documentary channel fuse, as well as OUTtv that MultiChoice tested as a DStv pop-up channel in 2018. 

Openview Ultra's Spice Bouquet will include Indian TV channels like ZEE Family and Star Select.

No monthly subscription fee pricing is available yet although eMedia plans to price OpenviewUltra very competitively as it takes on South Africa's duopoly pay-TV market dominated for decades by MultiChoice's DStv and the much smaller StarSat from China's StarTimes.

Openview Ultra as a subscription version of eMedia's existing Openview free-to-air satellite TV decoders, will function through three existing models of the existing Openview set-top box (STB), giving users who want to subscribe at a fee, access to these additional pay-TV bouquets and TV channels. 

By September 2022, Openview - growing by 500 00 activations per year - was already present in over 3 million homes across Southern Africa. 

It means that enabling pay-TV functionality and giving those 3 million users the option to become subscribers, would instantly transform eMedia's Hyde Park-based Openview Ultra into the biggest traditional pay-TV rival in South Africa to the existing Randburg-based MultiChoice. 

South Africa's broadcasting regulator Icasa granted e.tv a traditional pay-TV licence 16 years ago in 2007 under the banner e.Sat which it decided never to use.

Instead, it opted to become a TV channel supplier, for instance producing the eNCA (DStv 403) TV news channel for MultiChoice since 2008, and offering DStv other general entertainment channels as well.

Bennum van Jaarsveld, eMedia spokesperson, told TVwithThinus in response to a media query that the company is currently busy testing Openview Ultra.

In late November 2022, Khalik Sherrif, eMedia CEO, commenting on the group's interim results, said in a statement that the group is set to "launch a smarter set-top box with functions that will be unique in the South African market".

In last year's annual report, Sherrif noted that "The 2023 year will see the group enter the pay television market". 

eMedia has created new social media pages for Openview Ultra on Facebook and Instagram, as well as a website at www.ultraview.tv which is still under construction.