DStv BoxOffice coming to the Internet in 2011

DStv Online recently launched BoxOffice, an on-demand movie rental service that operates through DStv’s PVR offering.

John Kotsaftis, CEO of DStv Online, explained that they chose to launch on satellite first due to the broadband constraints in South Africa, but that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten about online.

BoxOffice, or a service like it, will be launched online by the end of 2011 and will be open to all South Africans, not just DStv subscribers, Kotsaftis said.

Kotsaftis said he could unfortunately not reveal many more details about the online offering, saying only that the online version of BoxOffice will be similar to the updated DStv On Demand service.

He could not comment on the pricing structure the online BoxOffice service might have.

However, Kotsaftis did reveal at the DStv BoxOffice launch event yesterday (21 July 2011) that they plan to support both Windows and Mac PCs, and later explained that they are looking at using a PC as a kind of PVR (personal video recorder).

When you rent a movie from their upcoming online video on demand (VOD) service it will download an encrypted video to your hard drive rather than streaming it directly. This is because they won’t be able to stream the video due to South Africa’s broadband constraints, Kotsaftis said.

Kotsaftis said that there is a risk that people will get content illegally when broadband becomes cheaper in SA, but that there is opportunity as well.

“People are willing to pay for a service when you help them navigate the sea of content,” Kotsaftis said. “If you look at Netflix people are willing – they want the easier path.”