DStv to rent movies 'aggressively'

2011-07-21 14:10

Duncan Alfreds

Cape Town - The pricing for video on demand (VOD) movies in SA will be aggressive, DStv said.

"I can't give you specifics pre the launch, but we are competitively priced on the offering. It will be in line with what people expect to pay at an outlet," DStv general manager for VOD and Labs Jean-Louis Açafrão told News24.

The service would run in a similar fashion to the current DStv catch-up, but users would have to pay to be granted permission to watch a movie.

PVR users would see a catalogue of titles on the catch-up page and after paying through a variety of options, the movie would become available for a limited period.

However, unlike hiring a movie at a video rental outlet, there would be no additional features included, like behind the scenes footages, outtakes and interviews commonly found on DVDs.

Video content

Açafrão said there were plans to include subtitles in the offer, which officially launches on Thursday.

"No subtitles [will be] currently available, but they will be coming in the future."

Internationally, VOD has had significant growth, and internet sites like YouTube are being re-organised along channel lines to offer video content.

DStv said it's following international trends and wants to offer content on devices, whether they are fixed or mobile.

"Our aim is to offer sport, entertainment and content to people on devices at a time and place that suits them," Açafrão said.

The service was only available to those with PVRs and he said that DStv was convinced that the model would be supported.

"You need to get a PVR because how it actually works is we push the titles to your box by satellite."

Satellite

Samsung has launched a VOD smart TV in SA, but it is best suited to work when connected to ADSL. However, Açafrão insisted that satellite was a more viable option given the poor penetration of cable broadband in the country.

"We use this as a means to circumvent South Africa's relatively poor broadband speed."

"The big problem with any device is the connection you use to get the content to your device. For the foreseeable future, until ADSL becomes almost ubiquitous across South Africa, we see satellite being the premier means of distribution of content across South Africa," he added.

The size of the PVR hard drive was a factor in limiting the number of movies on offer from DStv, but this may be expanded in the future. This means that traditional video stores should not be negatively affected by the DStv offering.

For DStv subscribers fed up with repeats, Açafrão promised that new movies would be offered at about the same time they were available on DVD.

"We're signed up with most of the Hollywood studios, including a bunch of independents. The aim is that we will be offering the biggest and the best Hollywood movies."

News24 is part of 24.com, a subsidiary of Media24, which is in the Naspers stable. DStv is a subsidiary of Naspers.


- Follow Duncan on Twitter