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In its latest financial report, Multichoice says it has signed partnerships with Netflix and Amazon that will allow it to integrate their services into its new Explora decoder. MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said the company is reaching out to all the streaming platforms around the world with the aim of providing their content to DStv subscribers.
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.
This is the view of MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela, who was speaking to Business Day TV about the company’s agreements with over-the-top (OTT) media services.
In its recent financial report, MultiChoice said it has signed deals with Netflix and Amazon to integrate these services into its new Explora decoder.
MultiChoice CFO Tim Jacobs said these agreements formed part of a new unified streaming platform MultiChoice would launch that would include content from international players.
“What we are trying to do is to provide an amount of simplicity, choice, and convenience to subscribers – they can come to one place and can get access to all of this different content,” said Jacobs.
Mawela said pay-TV operators like MultiChoice have always operated in a multi-channel environment where they purchase content from third-party providers.
This third-party content is then aggregated into the DStv platform and sold to subscribers in the form of DStv bouquets.
Mawela said adding OTT players to the DStv platform is a natural progression of pay-TV into the online space.
“We have always seen ourselves as a one-stop-shop where you can get content from all content producers in Africa and around the world,” said Mawela.
He added that Netflix is essentially a content provider, as are Amazon, Hulu, YouTube, and many others.
He said MultiChoice is reaching out to all the streaming platforms around the world with the aim of providing their content to DStv subscribers.
“We are reaching out to them and have some agreement for people to come to us and pay us once and get access to all the content providers,” said Mawela.
Mawela said pay-TV operators across the world have similar agreements with OTT players and the model is working well for both consumers and traditional pay-TV operators.
He added that it will not be a very costly exercise. “We have done our sums and made sure that it is commercially viable,” said Mawela.
“We are moving in that direction because it makes sense for us to be a one-stop-shop where you pay one bill where you can get all the content available out there.”
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