DStv-Samsung Android app exclusivity ending soon

The DStv BoxOffice mobile application will become more widely available from early 2015, the CEO of DStv Digital Media, John Kotsaftis, told journalists at a recent media engagement.

DStv BoxOffice is MultiChoice’s transactional video on demand service which lets users rent movies online.

Subscribers to DStv’s Compact, Extra, and Premium bouquets can also get access to some BoxOffice content via HD decoders with personal video recording capabilities, and receive a discount on rentals.

Currently, the mobile app for BoxOffice is only available on the Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 4 as part of an exclusivity deal with Samsung South Africa.

This exclusivity is set to come to an end on 30 October 2014.

When the exclusivity period comes to an end, the DStv BoxOffice app will launch on other Android devices and become available on other platforms, Kotsaftis told MyBroadband.

One notable exception is devices based on Apple’s iOS mobile operating system such as the iPhone and iPad, Kotsaftis said.

This is because of the commission Apple charges on anything sold within iOS applications.

“To give away 30% of your top line is massive,” Kotsaftis said.

Update: An earlier version of this article reported that the DStv BoxOffice app would become more widely available from January 2015, but a spokesperson for DStv Digital Media has subsequently said that the exact timing is not confirmed yet and that it is more accurate to say “from early 2015”. The article has been updated accordingly. DStv has also said that the exclusivity agreement is also set to expire at the end of October, not the end of December.

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