MultiChoice, Africa's largest pay TV operator with more than 20-million subscribers across 50 countries, will offer the Disney's streaming service to customers from May, further extending its place as a “gatekeeper” for the continent's pay TV market.
This move is helping Disney further challenge Netflix’s dominance as the global leader in video streaming.
In the same way that DStv has been able to bring film and television content from local and international players on one platform for the last two decades, MultiChoice is hoping to do the same for video streaming in an ever crowded market.
On Monday, the former Naspers company said it had partnered with Hollywood heavyweight Walt Disney to integrate the Disney+ streaming service through its DStv Explora platform.
Disney+ is set to launch in SA on May 18 and will be available to DStv subscribers via the Explora Ultra decoder on the same day. As part of the rollout, the streaming service will be made available in 42 countries including Turkey, Poland and the United Arab Emirates.
“MultiChoice customers with connected Explora Ultra decoders can enjoy the convenience of accessing all their entertainment needs in one central place, the benefits of exciting bundle deals and limited launch offers especially for those who are signed up to the DStv Rewards programme,” the group said.
Competition in streaming
In just more than two years, Disney has posed the biggest challenge to Netflix's global dominance in paid video streaming. In the first quarter of 2022, Disney+ added 11.8-million new subscribers to reach 129.8-million subscribers, putting it on track to achieve its target of 230-million to 260-million subscribers by 2024.
Netflix, which has about 222-million customers, fell short of its projections for new customers in the previous quarter, adding 8.3-million as opposed to its projected 8.5-million. That news has led to more than 35% of the company's value being wiped out in the last five days on the Nasdaq as fears grow that the company's ability to fend of competitors like Disney is slipping.
Disney is aiming to spend $33bn (R517bn), about 10 times MultiChoice's market cap, on new content in the current fiscal year to gain new subscriptions and continue the pace from the first quarter.
Netflix spent $17bn in 2021 on new content.
The SA streaming market
SA has in recent years seen growth in the number of streaming services that have entered the market, including US players Netflix and Amazon Prime, as well as Hong Kong’s Viu, which has differentiated itself through local content. MultiChoice has also been investing heavily in the space, and is home to three services — DStv, Showmax and Showmax Pro.
Previously studios would create content, which would be bought by broadcasters such as MultiChoice and then distribute to customers. Now studios like Disney and HBO, are coming up with their own apps and going straight to consumers. MultiChoice, which dominates the local pay TV market with more than 8-million customers, now faces even more competition from one of the most powerful Hollywood players.
To combat this, DStv recently launched the Explora Ultra decoder, which has YouTube, YouTube Kids, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Showmax and DStv Now. MultiChoice refers to this as its “super aggregator strategy”. MultiChoice is looking to do for online streaming what it has done for local broadcast television with DStv: aggregate content in one place.
Success in the SA market
With channels like Disney, Disney Junior and National Geographic — all available on DStv already — Disney is no stranger to the SA market, an advantage that the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video did not have when first launching in SA.
Nitesh Singh, MD of Accenture’s communications, media and technology practice in SA, says the ability for Disney to succeed in this market is high as consumers are already used to its content and brand.
Christine Service, senior vice-president and general manager of The Walt Disney Company Africa, said this was “yet another proud milestone in our partnership with the MultiChoice Group”.
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