SABC to launch OTT service
November 17, 2022
By Chris Forrester
South Africa’s SABC is to launch a new streaming service branded SABC+. The public broadcaster is taking over responsibility for existing OTT services from telco TelkomOne which wants to exit the offering.
SABC and Telkom launched the OTT service in November 2020 in order to offer SABC’s back catalogue and free-to-air channels on a streaming platform. It was initially expected to be a 5-year agreement.
“Telkom and the SABC have had a successful partnership since the launch of TelkomOne in late 2020. The platform has now matured and ready to scale under the management of the SABC’s broadcasting expertise,” Telkom said in a statement.
The existing TelkomOne customer base will be handed over to SABC. Telkom said existing TelkomOne ‘Amp’ customers with active subscriptions will automatically have access to SABC+ at no additional cost. “They can also look forward to enhanced content offerings which they can subscribe to directly through SABC+.”
“Their expertise in sourcing and curating relevant content will enrich the current content library for existing and new customers,” said Telkom CMO Gugu Mthembu.