Naspers' SVOD ShowMax does its first service tier split; creates cheaper ShowMax Select; launching in Poland on 15 February.

Naspers' subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service ShowMax has done its first market segment service tier split since it launched in August 2015, creating a cheaper alternative branded ShowMax Select in conjunction with cellular service provider Vodacom.

ShowMax is also getting ready to launch in Poland next week, starting on 15 February 2017 with a monthly subscription of 5 euro or R70.90.

Until now ShowMax has only had one subscription "tier" costing R99 per month but is now doing its first bundling stratification to create a lower-tiered service for R49 per month its calling ShowMax Select.

ShowMax Select can only be paid for by adding the R49 to Vodacom subscribers' monthly bill while ShowMax Premium has various payment offers. ShowMax Select makes it possible for people without a credit card to get access to the SVOD player's service.

ShowMax Select as a cheaper option - the first consumer demographic delineation for the SVOD player - limits the portion of international content available in the bucket for the client. 

With less international content licensing rights payable to foreign distributors and filling up with local shows - many of which is owned by through-the-wire-fence pay-TV broadcaster M-Net - ShowMax is able to lower offer a cheaper targeted product.

More than 50% of the available content on ShowMax Select is local content, resulting in the 50% cheaper price difference.

Besides the higher local content bucket, ShowMax Select is also optimised to use as little data as possible of Vodacom users who have to watch on smartphones and tablets. The default level is standard definition (SD), using almost 40% less data than ShowMax Premium.

Chris Savides, head of ShowMax Africa, says ShowMax Select costs "half the price of our existing ShowMax Premium service with a strong focus on local content. We designed ShowMax Select to be viewed first and foremost on mobile devices,with multiple options for managing data consumption".

ShowMax library titles leak before launch announcement; M-Net, BBC Worldwide and SABC onboard with content for Naspers' new SVOD service.

The ShowMax library titles leaked from the website before this Wednesday's official announcement of the new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service from Naspers, revealing that the new South African streaming player acquired licensing rights from BBC Worldwide, M-Net and the SABC.

Naspers is creating and launching ShowMax to pre-empt the arrival of the global streaming subscription service Netflix which told TV with Thinus that it will be in South Africa before the end of 2016.

ShowMax will launch soon in South Africa, likely with a free ShowMax Basic option giving people free but limited access, as well as a ShowMax Premium subscription offering that costs R99 per month for unlimited use.

While ShowMax from Naspers will be direct competition for Naspers' MultiChoice operating the DStv satellite pay-TV service in South Africa, it also does something else: weakening Netflix' available offering.

As with linear pay-TV and VOD services like M-Net, On Digital Media's StarSat and Times Media Group's VIDI, content on SVOD services are also acquired by and licensed to specific operators for specific periods.

That is why Netflix' offering differs from country to country and territory to territory.

House of Cards which is a Netflix drama has for instance been licensed to M-Net for Africa, meaning that House of Cards, although it is actually a Netflix show, won't be available on Netflix when the over-the-top (OTT) operator launches in South Africa.

With ShowMax sowing up the rights to a further collection of content from the SABC, BBC Worldwide, M-Net, and several of the big Hollywood studios, ShowMax is as much about the creation of a new service as it is also a tactical, pre-emptive blow to possible decrease and limit what Netflix as a video internet subscription service would eventually be able to carry on its service.

Interestingly most notably absent from ShowMax - but which could be added before or after the service launches officially - is content from e.tv in South Africa and large international content providers like Discovery Networks International and FOX.

The Naspers service managed to get a large number of classic series from the SABC archives - a lot of which are not shown on the linear SABC Encore (DStv 156) channel on DStv and which are making the jump straight from digitisation of the SABC library to online streaming.

Besides a large number of movies, documentaries and stand-up comedy ranging from Rocky to Blue Planet and Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger to TV shows like Deadwood, Dexter, Orkney Snork Nie, The Black Adder, isiBaya, Frozen Planet and many more, will enable viewers to "binge-watch" - watching multiple episodes and as much as they want.

While users will be able to watch as much as they want, ShowMax is warning that the use of the service will be subject to fair usage, although it's not currently explaining what that "fair usage" will mean.

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

ShowMax subscribers will be able to use the service on personal computers through browsers, on iPhones and iPads, on Android phones and tablets, as well as on Samsung Smart TVs and Samsung Tizen Smart TVs and on LG NetCast Smart TVs and LG WebOS Smart TVs by downloading and using the ShowMax app.

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.