Telkom to try and compete with MultiChoice's DStv - again - with a 'content mall' of bundled streaming curation.

by Thinus Ferreira

It might be a case of third time lucky for Telkom which plans to once again compete with MultiChoice's DStv by creating a curated, bundled video streaming offering through a "content mall" that's cheaper than subscribing to streamers directly, after attempts over the past decade to create its own satellite TV service and then its own streaming service both failed.

Lunga Siyo, Telkom consumer CEO, told the ITWeb On The Road podcast that the telecom is busy setting up its own "content mall" through which it wants to bundle various video streaming services at a bundled price that's cheaper that subscribing to each streamer individually.

Multiple American studios and streamers are currently exploring and working on the same idea of offering bundled streaming services similar to the traditional satellite pay-TV bundle, as the industry starts to consolidate and consumers are saying they no longer want to pay for a bunch of different streamers.

In this Telkom "content mall", Telkom customers would be able to subscribe to streamers like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and others at a cheaper price than subscribing to those streaming services directly.

"Instead of investing in content and becoming a content producer, we've taken a position that we create a content mall. So we become the access. So in our own platform you're able to subscribe to these platforms, for a fee, which might be cheaper than if you were to go directly."

"So we will aggregate all of these services, and offer it you it to you as a bundle," Siyo said.

"They bring their own content, we bring our own platform."

Telkom's latest plan might be easier said than done. 

Not only has MultiChoice stalled in its own plan three years after announcing that it was creating a "one-stop shop" for streaming services through its DStv platform, but Telkom has struggled and gave up on both its previous tries to create a traditional and streaming video service.

In 2006 Telkom was one of the few successful bidders for new satellite TV service licences in South Africa and set up Telkom Media into which hundreds of millions of rand was poured with executives appointed and international content agreement signed.

After planning to invest over R7 billion, Telkom then abruptly decided to pivot Telkom Media which never launched, into an IPTV service instead of traditional satellite pay-TV and, two years later in 2008 slashed its funding.

After another year, Telkom dumped Telkom Media in 2009 which was sold off to Shenzhen Media Group which never launched and shuttered.

In November 2020 Telkom tried for a second time with launching its own video service when TelkomONE was launched into which Telkom again poured hundreds of millions of rand.

Barely two years later in November 2022 Telkom decided to get rid of TelkomONE and abruptly shuttered it and sold it off to the SABC for the South African public broadcaster to create its SABC+ streamer.

Streaming bundling future

MultiChoice had the same idea as Telkom a few years ago but MultiChoice's attempt has not fully come to fruition - although in America studios, broadcasters and video service providers are realising they need to aggregate streamers and are trying to come up with new consumer bundling approaches and offerings.

Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice CEO, in 2021 said the traditional satellite pay-TV service would work to become a "one-stop shop" and a "super aggregator" for video entertainment services like streamers. 

Over the past three years MultiChoice has added third-party streaming apps through DStv like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and the recently shuttered BritBox but that's where its efforts stalled. 

Warner Bros. Discovery's Max isn't available in South Africa yet, and Paramount added its Paramount+ not as a stand-alone streamer in South Africa like elsewhere in the world but as a studio tile folded for free into MultiChoice's own Showmax streamer with a limited Paramount+ title offering.

Other global streamers like Apple TV+ and local streaming services are also not available on, or through DStv. 

In the United States, consumers who have had to subscribe to four or five different streaming services are cutting back as streamers from Netflix to Disney+ are aggressively hiking subscription fees, adding ads, and making it much more expensive to be a subscriber than when they launched.

Media companies, legacy pay-TV services and content providers like Disney are trying to figure out how to offer bundled streaming services where they don't cannibalise other offerings but provide consumer value in a way where they can drive sustained subscriber growth and profitability, while it also makes sense as a bundle.

Earlier this year Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney with its ESPN and Fox announced they would start a joint sports streaming service Venu which has quickly become mired in a court battle.

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.

Disney+ SA launches a MTN mobile plan.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Walt Disney Company Africa is launching a limited mobile plan with MTN for Disney+ in South Africa at R49 per month.

Walt Disney's promo partnership with MTN in South Africa follows Vodacom's promo partnership with Amazon Prime Video and comes as global streamers like Netflix and Apple TV+ are furiously fighting for sign-ups in Africa's most developed streamer market where MultiChoice is also set to relaunch its Showmax offering at the end of the year in partnership with Comcast's NBCUniversal.

MTN mobile subscribers who add Disney+ to their monthly bill or pay for it with airtime get 500MB of free data for streaming per month. A Disney+ mobile "entertainment pass" is also available at a cost of R59 for 2GB of streaming use data per month.

MTN and Disney+ SA's mobile plan is more limited than the normal Disney+ subscription of R139 per month, limiting a user to a single concurrent stream compared to the four of a normal subscription. 

Only two devices can be logged into and use a Disney+ mobile-only subscription concurrently, compared to 10 for a normal Disney+ subscription, and Disney+ on the mobile plan doesn't allow Apple AirPlay or screencasting. 

Content quality is capped at 480p for MTN's Disney+ mobile plan (as opposed to 4K or Ultra-HD of 2160p for Disney+ at R139.

"Plans are in development for further Disney+ offers for MTN customers," the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Jason Probert, MTN SA general manager for digital services, says "We are proud to enter into this agreement with Disney+ as we collaborate to offer South Africans world-class entertainment on the go".

Christine Service, senior vice president and general manager of The Walt Disney Company, says "Disney+ joining forces with MTN gives South African subscribers another way to access our vast selection of blockbuster films, iconic series and brand-new Disney+ Original titles at home or on the move, giving more streaming choices than ever before".

'A road to hell': South Africa's parliament told that a new TV tax on DStv and Netflix will make people more interested to watch SABC.

by Thinus Ferreira

The South African government's controversial plan for an expanded new TV tax described as "a road to hell" is gathering steam with claims that a law to force laptop and tablet owners as well as DStv, StarSat and Netflix subscribers to pay for the SABC will generate more money for the broadcaster and "will get people more interested in watching programmes of the SABC".

With only 24% - a falling percentage - of TV households still bothering to pay for a SABC TV Licence, the South Africa public broadcaster and the country's department of communications and digital technologies, are desperate to try and dig the struggling SABC out of its financial black hole through finding new additional income streams.

Part of the aggressive new plan contained in draft legislation from communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, is to enlarge the fishing net of available SABC TV Licence revenue beyond the public broadcaster's own struggling collection fees division.

Changes to legislation would make private companies like pay-TV providers, as well as local and global video streaming services with a presence in South Africa, responsible for ensuring that their customers have a valid TV licence or to tack it on as a fee - whether those consumers watch the SABC or not.

Owners of tablets and laptops will also be forced to have and pay a SABC TV Licence whether they watch or consumer SABC content or not.

The initial inclusion of smartphones that was included in the plan as well has now been dropped from the Draft White Paper on Audio and Audio-Visual Content Services Policy Framework.

A grudge purchase

During an appearance of the SABC top executives and board as well as the department of communications before parliament's portfolio committee on communications on Tuesday and where the broadcaster shared details of its financial situation, it once again became clear how the vast majority of South Africans are going out of their way to avoid paying a SABC TV Licence.

A growing number of South Africans regard a must-buy SABC TV Licence as a once-off grudge purchase in order to buy a TV set. 

In 2019 the SABC had 401 321 new TV Licence holders who paid for one just to buy a TV set. Of them, only 68 093 bothered to pay for a first-time renewal when it was due after a year.

"This percentage of 17% of first-time SABC TV Licence renewals have been higher in the past, so clearly either the evasion rate or the attractiveness of the SABC's content did not speak to our audiences," Yolande van Biljon, SABC CFO told parliament.

Meanwhile, the SABC sits with a massive 76% SABC TV Licence "evasion rate" meaning that 76% of South African TV households that the public broadcaster are aware of and send a SABC TV Licence bill to, do not bother to pay their annual licence fee. 

Only 24% are still paying with the rate that keeps declining as the country's overall TV watching universe expands. 

Besides the SABC's TV Licence database there are millions more South African TV households with one or more TV sets that the SABC is not aware of and that don't have licences. 

There are also many millions more DStv and StarSat subscribers, as well as people with laptops and tablets, and a growing number of Netflix, Showmax and Amazon Prime Video subscribers.

'A road to hell'

On Tuesday Zandile Majozi, IFP MP, said "With the SABC draft bill moving for SABC TV Licence fees to the streaming services of Netflix - we support that. We believe it's a good strategy to begin with".

"It will generate more income for the public broadcaster and also it will get people more interested in watching programmes of the SABC".

Cameron MacKenzie, DA MP, warned that "we've seen a general public outcry at the minister's initiatives or ideas around collecting from Netflix and Showmax and MultiChoice and these other things of 'when you get a phone you must get a TV licence'."

"If you read the national mood, I think it will be very dangerous for any politician or any minister to go down in that direction - it really is a road to hell. I think we should stay well away from that," he said.

Pinky Kekana, the deputy minister of communications, said that "the industry is moving aggressively moving online and the SABC is trailing behind".

"The main goal is for us to declare the SABC as public service media. And once we do that, then it will be able to be competitive".

"If you look at the old TV1 which was predominantly English and Afrikaans, the old Springbok radio - they were well funded."

New 'public household levy' for the SABC 

She said that the South African government is looking at introducing a type of "public household levy that can assist the SABC to then have proper funding".

"We must initiate some of the discussions, mindful of what Cameron MacKenzie was saying. We can't fold our arms and say the status quo must remain when we know our public broadcaster is dwindling".

"These are the things that we should put in the public arena and look at whether government can fund the SABC directly from the fiscus or whether we can be creative in looking at the household levy".

Pinky Kekana said that "both from the department's side and from the SABC's side we're working very closely together to say, 'What are the options?' And these are not conclusive. Members can still look into some of those things, and indeed even when the amendments to the audio and audio-visual white paper engagement takes place".

Yet another video streamer could come to South Africa and Africa as ViacomCBS announces that it will rebrand and expand its CBS All Access and roll it out internationally.

by Thinus Ferreira

Yet another subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service could possibly make its way to Africa and South Africa with ViacomCBS that announced on Thursday that it will be rebranding its CBS All Access streaming service in the United States within a year and start to expand it internationally.

If ViacomCBS makes a relaunched CBS All All Access available in South Africa, it will compete with the existing Netflix, MultiChoice's Showmax, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, VIU, Vodacom Video Play and some other smaller SVOD players.

Not yet launched in South Africa or Africa and with only silence from The Walt Disney Company about it and the continent, is its streaming service Disney+ that was rolled out in the United States, the United Kingdom, European countries, India and New Zealand.

WarnerMedia's HBO Max is launching on 25 May in the United States - also with silence from WarnerMedia as to possible future roll-out in South Africa or Africa.

CBS All Access Originals that are only on CBS All Access in the United States is currently sold through CBS Studios International, CBS Television Studios' international distribution arm, to pay-TV channels and streamers available in Africa and South Africa, for instance M-Net and Amazon Prime Video.

The Good Fight is on M-Net (DStv 101) on MultiChoice's DStv satellite pay-TV service, with the latest Star Trek series, Star Trek Picard on Amazon Prime Video and the new The Twilight Zone on MultiChoice's own streamer Showmax.

Bob Bakish, ViacomCBS CEO, on Thursday told investors that CBS All Access will rebrand, expands its content offering, and expand internationally within the next year.

The rebranded service will add new and original as well as library content in the form of more shows and films from other ViacomCBS divisions like Paramount and starting with 100 films added from this week, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET and other ViacomCBS pay-TV channels.

"We believe audiences want their entertainment on demand and their news, sports and events live, and our expanded offering will be the service that gives them what they want, how they want it all in one place and then a great value," Bob Bakish said.

"Our experience makes clear that we can acquire new customers in a disciplined and economically efficient way while reducing churn and driving customer retention with a deep volume of entertainment news and sports."

Bob Bakish said ViacomCBS is interested in working with existing pay-TV operators in distributing its streaming platform.

"We are full speed ahead on streaming and seeing strong demand for our services today with a strategy to achieve accelerated growth domestically and internationally in the months and years to come."

In a separate press release about the addition of the 100 films from Paramount Pictures to All Access,Julie McNamara, CBS All Access programming boss, said "Expanding CBS All Access' library of films with these iconic titles from Paramount Pictures is just one of the many ways we're integrating the phenomenal catalog of IP available to us within the ViacomCBS family".

"The service is on a growth trajectory with two record-breaking months in March and April, and we look forward to bringing even more premium content and value to our subscribers in the coming months."

New study finds consumers are confused by streaming services; more would drop pay-TV if they knew what was available and could stream live programming, especially sports.

New American research from a TV consumer study has found that consumers are confused by streaming services (so-called over-the-top or OTT operators like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc.), don't know what programming, and live programming, are available or where; and that more would dump their pay-TV subscriptions and switch to streaming services if more live programming were available, especially sports.

Since the United States has a more sophisticated and more mature TV market and consumer market, it's easy to postulate that the findings of the study by Telaria and Adobe, entitled "Inside the Minds of Cord-Cutters and Cable-Keepers", would be true - and even more so - for South Africa and Africa.

South African consumers and pay-TV subscribers are still getting used to nascent streaming services ranging from Naspers' Showmax run by MultiChoice that also provides the DStv satellite direct-to-home (DTH) pay-TV service, Netflix operating Netflix South Africa, Amazon Prime Video, Cell C black, and a few other small service.

While streaming service uptake in South Africa is rapidly growing, it's still from a very small base with streamers like Showmax, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video unwilling to make subscriber numbers per market, like in South Africa, available.

What the Telaria and Adobe study found is that while a lot of people switch to streaming services, even more would switch and get rid of their existing traditional pay-TV subscription if they knew that they could get live programming - especially sports content - and knew what live TV programming existed.

Among consumers who won't let go of their pay-TV subscription - people called "cable keepers" - 20% said they don't know how, if they dropped their pay-TV, how they would access live TV.

"Despite steady declines in subscribers, cable still dominates viewership," the study found.

"The primary reason people keep the cord is the perception that only a linear connection can deliver live television content (42%). The second and third most common reasons are the desire to have a lot of TV channels (34%), and the fear of losing favourite networks (32%)."

Sports content and other live TV events are also strong reasons why people want and want to keep their pay-TV subscription.

According to the study 30% of "cable keepers" said they would drop their pay-TV subscription of they could stream their favourite sports content, live events they want to watch and TV news.

Pay-TV subscribers also don't know enough about streaming services, and don't know what is available, and where.

More than half (55%) say they are confused by the available streaming options.

"Despite the barriers, almost half of cable subscribers have or are considering cutting the cord," the study found.

"This is especially true among millennials, who outpace older segments in cord-free status. One in three pay-TV subscribers would definitely cut the cord if they could live stream their favourite sports, events and news, and an additional 40% would consider it."

"Sports fans are even more likely to consider cutting the cord if they could live stream programming."

According to the study the top reason why people dropped their pay-TV subscription was that it was deemed to be too expensive (73%), that everything was available through streaming (36%), and that there were too many TV channels available on the pay-TV bouquet (36%).

The study found that a lot of people are accessing streaming services through password sharing. A whopping 16% of respondents said they use someone else's password from a network or a provider to authenticate an app on a device.

Another 21% share their passwords with friends and family. Interestingly people are more satisfied with the price they're paying for streaming services than for traditional pay-TV with 70% saying they're satisfied with the monthly price they're paying for streaming, compared to just 40% for traditional pay-TV subscribers.