![\"\"](\"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/TelkomONE-headline-image.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLocal streaming services, like TelkomONE and Vodacom Video Play, provide further competition to MultiChoice\u2019s ShowMax and DStv Now offerings.<\/p>\n
Unveiled in November 2020, TelkomONE offers a range of free content including SABC and news channels, paid-for movies, and TV shows that primarily consist of local reality programmes.<\/p>\n
Telkom has not released subscriber numbers yet, but said it was pleased with consistent growth in registrations and content engagement across the platform.<\/p>\n
Vodacom Video Play is another big local player. Launched in 2015, it is targeting mobile users with movies, series, kids shows and music videos. It grew to over a million subscribers by 2019.<\/p>\n
So significant is the threat from over-the-top (OTT) providers like Netflix, YouTube, and Disney+, that MultiChoice described it as an existential competitive threat to DStv<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n MultiChoice told the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) that OTT operators are their biggest competitors and a real threat.<\/p>\n \u201cCurrently competition is fierce and will continue to grow rapidly and in a disruptive way,\u201d MultiChoice said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe consider providers like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, HBO Now & Peacock to be an existential competitive threat.\u201d<\/p>\n Calvo Mawela, MultiChoice Group CEO<\/p><\/div>\n DStv\u2019s answer to streaming services encroaching on its territory is to offer Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube through its DStv Explora decoders.<\/p>\n MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said it makes sense for DStv to become a one-stop-shop where you pay one bill and get access to all streaming content, including Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and YouTube.<\/p>\n There is however a snag – a Competition Commission investigation<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Competition Commission spokesperson, Siyabulela Makunga said they are investigating MultiChoice\u2019s deal with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.<\/p>\n The investigation is focussed on the integration of popular international streaming services into its DStv Explora decoder, which may lessen competition.<\/p>\n If the outcome of this investigation is not favourable for MultiChoice, it can stop its Netflix and Amazon integration plans in its tracks.<\/p>\n It is not only local and international streaming services which are looking to take market share from DStv.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s free-to-air satellite TV service platform, Openview is aggressively targeting the less affluent end of the market.<\/p>\n Openview has increased its investment in content from R308.7 million to R366.9 million per year to strengthen its offering.<\/p>\n The platform is currently offering over 18 TV and radio channels and has signed an agreement in March to add a new SABC Sport channel to the platform.<\/p>\n The strategy is working. Openview set-top box activations continue to grow at an average of 35,000 per month.<\/p>\n eMedia Holdings\u2019 latest financial results revealed that Openview now has 2,361,443 users, up from 1,992,844 a year ago.<\/p>\n It is not only Openview which is going after the South African satellite TV market.<\/p>\n AfricaXP expanded its free-to-air satellite TV service, PremiumFree, to millions of satellite dishes in South Africa on 1 May 2021.<\/p>\n PremiumFree is already offering free-to-air satellite TV services in many African countries through two Eutelsat satellites.<\/p>\n AfricaXP is now further extending PremiumFree\u2019s reach through a partnership with Intelsat via its IS-20 satellite \u2014 the same satellite DStv uses which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n AfricaXP CEO Craig Kelly said the capacity on Intelsat\u2019s IS-20 satellite gives them additional coverage and direct access to over 40 million homes across this region with dishes aligned to it.<\/p>\n Many South African households have IS-20 aligned dishes connected to \u201cclosed\u201d decoders that lock out other channels.<\/p>\n These viewers could now buy any low-cost free to air decoder and connect it to their LNB cable coming from the dish to receive the PremiumFree channels.<\/p>\n The current PremiumFree bouquet offers 20 English channels with a strong focus on African content.<\/p>\n Openview and PremiumFree compete directly competing against DStv EasyView which is priced at R29 per month.<\/p>\n It is not clear how MultiChoice will react to the competitive and regulatory threats, but it is likely to include improved streaming services.<\/p>\n The company is already offering its own streaming service, ShowMax, which was launched in August 2015.<\/p>\n Last year MultiChoice unveiled its new Showmax Pro offering which includes a selection of live sports.<\/p>\n It followed up its enhanced ShowMax Pro service with the launch of a new standalone DStv streaming service in December.<\/p>\n The standalone DStv streaming service allows existing and new subscribers to access content on mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, or smart TVs without the need for a dish or decoder.<\/p>\n MultiChoice is also busy developing a bundle which will combine DStv subscriptions with uncapped Internet service packages.<\/p>\n These interventions will help to make MultiChoice competitive, but whether it will be enough to maintain its dominance remains to be seen.<\/p>\n DStv is facing serious threats and MultiChoice’s response will shape what the future of their service offering looks like.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[39088,85,35,2052,475,2054,50823,67075],"class_list":["post-399395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadcasting","tag-amazon-prime-video","tag-dstv","tag-headline","tag-hulu","tag-multichoice","tag-netflix","tag-openview","tag-telkomone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399395"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399395"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399395\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":399585,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399395\/revisions\/399585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nNow read: DStv EasyView versus Openview \u2013 prices and channels<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"