South Africa\u2019s incumbent pay-TV operator, MultiChoice, does not have any exclusive content deals in place that would prevent services like Netflix from launching in South Africa.<\/p>\n
Nor are there exclusive deals between MultiChoice and studios that would restrict the content available to SA\u2019s newly launched subscription video-on-demand (VOD) service Vidi.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the word from Keshnie Moodley, business manager of broadcast and content at Times Media Films, a division of Times Media (which operates Vidi).<\/p>\n
Speaking to media at the launch of Vidi on 10 September 2014, Moodley explained that there are no exclusives when it comes to VOD content.<\/p>\n
However, thanks to stiff competition in the VOD space, content is \u201cvery expensive\u201d and represents the biggest barrier to entry for services such as Vidi.<\/p>\n
In an interview with MyBroadband earlier in the year, MultiChoice group CEO Imtiaz Patel said that regional exclusives are a standard practice in the broadcasting world.<\/p>\n
While MultiChoice does pay copyright owners for exclusive rights to broadcast certain content, Patel said that this does not preclude other operators from bidding.<\/p>\n
Vidi\u2019s responses to journalist\u2019s questions earlier this week clarified that there is a big difference between broadcast rights and VOD rights when it comes to such exclusives.<\/p>\n
Free Netflix, Hulu unblocking in SA on Axxess DSL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Vidi hands-on: SA\u2019s R149 per month streaming service<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n New DStv channels revealed<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Vidi video streaming in SA: all the details<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n