South Africa’s SABC public broadcaster has told a parliamentary committee that its financial position is grave. Overall its financial revenues are some 27 per cent below an already squeezed budget. SABC had hoped for a 64 million Rand (€3.46m) surplus this year but CFO Yolande van Biljon told MPs at a sitting of the nation’s […]
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 […]
South African pay-TV giant DStv has lost 3 per cent of its ‘Premium’ subscriber base in South Africa according to the latest half-year financial results from parent MultiChoice. Multichoice said that the impact of the football off-season was exacerbated by an extremely challenging consumer climate. Generating additional revenue streams continues to be a main focus […]
South Africa’s MultiChoice has cautioned investors that its half-year results (to the end of September) will be affected by the increased costs of set-top box subsidies. The costs, of about R700 million (€40m) directly related to the take-up of subscribers for the FIFA World Cup. MultiChoice’s trading update said that its profits would rise by […]
Vodacom South Africa has announced that all new, existing and upgrading customers are now eligible to subscribe to Prime Video or Prime Video Mobile Edition, regardless of price plan, whether prepaid or post-paid. Vodacom is the first telecommunications company in Africa to offer Prime Video Mobile Edition. With Prime Video Mobile Edition, customers benefit from […]
South Africa’s MultiChoice is going after South Africa’s fibre-based users, and is launching an aggressive campaign to win potential customers seeking uncapped fibre access. It is offering a linked fibre service plus DStv pay-TV bundles at what are seen as ‘deeply discounted’ prices. DStv is currently promoting two options: The first offers a 25 MB/s […]
BBC Studios has secured its first content package deal with pan-regional OTT video streaming service, VIU. The multi-genre deal will bring over 150 hours of British content to VIU’s platform in South Africa, including dramas, documentaries and children’s content. The agreement will mark the first sale of Homegrown Tastes South Africa, BBC Lifestyle’s local commission […]
MultiChoice’s DStv says it will add a pair of 4K channels in readiness for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The tournament kicks off on November 20th. Nyiko Shiburi, CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, speaking at the company’s annual media event in Johannesburg, said that a significant amount of technical work had been done […]
MultiChoice subscribers in South Africa can enjoy significant price cuts if they switch from satellite to a broadband (‘dishless’) service. The cuts range from 13 per cent to 17.5 per cent depending on the level of package taken. DStv Premium, which currently costs R839 per month (about €48.40) can save 16.7 per cent by switching […]
South Africa has notified the local telco operators of its intention to end 2G and 3G cellular services by 2025. The operators, including Vodacom, MTN and Telkom, say this could be too soon and have asked for further consultation. The operators say further discussions are needed in order to ensure that consumers will not be […]