MultiChoice preps for battle
WHILE TELKOM MEDIA has been the most vocal of the next generation of possible pay TV operators, recent announcements from MultiChoice make it clear that it isn't resting on its laurels.
Earlier this month the pay TV operator announced a public phase of offering its broadband product to its premium subscribers, allowing the ability to watch selected South African content streamed over the Internet.
MultiChoice has been offering that kind of service to SA expatriates, mainly in the United States and Britain, through its Kudu Club service and its SA product is based on that technology.
Richard Fyffe, GM for new media at MultiChoice, says that the trial is aimed at testing how well high quality, long format video material is delivered over the Internet in SA and what the demand from subscribers could be for such content.
The biggest threat to this fledgling service continues to be the high cost of bandwidth in SA. However, with prices dropping and the potential that regulator Icasa will force ISPs to provide uncapped local bandwidth, that issue could quickly be relegated to history.
MultiChoice's second weapon is video on demand. It's partnered with OpenTV to build the platform for the next generation of set top boxes that will deliver the service to the home via satellite. "We do see Internet connectivity and the set top box coming to-gether in the future. However, that's already a trend starting in other markets," Fyffe says.
With the success of the PVR well established, MultiChoice needs to begin looking at new ways to ensure that when competition arrives it will be ready.
Finweek
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