Good news about DStv prices

MultiChoice has said that it is developing advertising technology for DStv Stream and Showmax that could allow for lower pricing in future.

This was the feedback from the pay-TV broadcaster about a statement in its recent interim financial results.

“The business remains focused on developing advertising technology solutions for the streaming and video-on-demand environments via DStv Stream and Showmax,” MultiChoice said in its half-year financial report.

Asked whether this means that MultiChoice is considering an ad-supported tier for Showmax, the company said it is monitoring international developments but doesn’t have immediate plans to that effect.

“We are continuously monitoring global trends around ad-supported streaming models, which continue to grow in markets such as the US and Europe,” MultiChoice said.

“However, as the streaming market in Africa remains nascent, no major streaming service is offering an ad-supported model at this stage.”

MultiChoice said it would see how the South African market evolves and consider an ad-supported model on Showmax when it feels the market is ready.

Several major international streaming services offer ad-supported plans in specific markets, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

However, in markets like South Africa, streamers have elected to offer more affordable mobile-only plans than ad-supported tiers.

While Showmax competes more directly against international streamers in on-demand video, DStv Stream occupies a different niche.

In addition to on-demand content, DStv Stream offers access to traditional broadcast channels and live events, with SuperSport being its crown jewel.

DStv has always been an advertising-supported subscription TV service, raising the question of what advertising technology advanced MultiChoice had in mind for DStv Stream.

“Over the last 18 months, the group was the first in Africa to implement Dynamic Ad Insertion through DStv Stream,” a MultiChoice spokesperson told MyBroadband.

“The technology is enabled by fellow group company, Irdeto, together with a partnership with Invidi.”

Irdeto is a MultiChoice subsidiary that specialises in digital platform security. It offers services and technology solutions that protect platforms, digital assets, and software applications across multiple industries.

Invidi is a privacy-preserving advertising technology provider that helps target commercials to viewers with the same level of accuracy as online retailers and social media platforms.

“The technology enables us to insert separate commercials on DStv Stream from the advertisements shown on the satellite service,” MultiChoice said.

“This is starting to show promising growth as the DStv Stream base grows.”

Regarding the benefits to subscribers, MultiChoice said the technology would improve the relevance of the advertisements customers are shown.

“As we are seeing in many first-world markets globally, it also allows for lower pricing to customers when ad-supported models are able to scale,” said MultiChoice.