South Africa is seeing an entire disruption of television as we know it, right before our eyes, but what does this mean for DSTV in the world of Netflix.
Over the past 4 years, fiber internet has been spreading like wildfire in South Africa allowing all major suburbs access to incredibly fast internet speeds and along with this, a ton of different streaming services have been introduced trying to capitalize on the growth.
These new streaming services like Netflix are making it possible for South Africans to watch pretty much anything they want, all their favorite shows, from any device, whenever they want. Although it has made it much easier to watch your favorite television shows, does this new wave of technology mean the end of digital television providers such as Multichoice DSTV?
“This has been a long-standing debate and as Netflix continues to expand to further countries including South Africa, we are seeing the entire disruption of television as we know it right before our eyes.”
According to the latest findings published by My Broadband, there have been more than 400,000 new subscribers on Netflix’s platform since it first arrived in South Africa in 2016. This is a big deal and I can assure you DSTV is feeling the heat from its new competitors, although they are not going to give up without a fight.
“In 2015 Multichoice foresaw this new trend and made headlines by announcing its own streaming service called Showmax which is available for free to their premium users. Showmax has a lot of the latest content for its users and I enjoy watching it but, in terms of quantity, it is by no means in the same league as Netflix and will need to step up its game even further if they want to compete in 2018.”
Although Netflix is already dominating in many parts of the world, Multichoice has set a great foundation here in South Africa and they have announced that in 2019 they are planning to launch a new type of standalone internet version of DSTV (which they are already BETA testing) which might actually replace the satellite dish completely.
This new service is referred to as an Over-The-Top (OTT) version of their current platform and by doing this they will effectively be transitioning to an entirely new online system which their subscribers can log in to from literally any device to watch their favorite shows.
They will also have OTT services available like Catch Up Plus, DStv Now and Showmax (which will remain free to its premium users).
Calvo Mawela, CEO of DSTV has been quoted saying “This is a work in progress” and “Unfortunately I cannot share with you an exact time”. But it is definitely very exciting to think that they will be changing the entire operations of the company and transitioning to the online space.
Many have speculated that although Netflix might look more affordable and may be the better option for some series, it may not be the first choice for viewers when it comes to watching sports or the latest news and that’s where DSTV still has the advantage.
Overwhelming amounts of research are showing that in 2018 the American population will spend more time online than watching television for literally the first time in history. This is big news and it’s going to mark a trend that will quickly be followed by the rest of the world, including South Africa as well.
So there will definitely be some tough times ahead for Multichoice, but in the meantime, they currently hold the market share of viewership in all of Southern Africa.
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