MultiChoice and Vodacom will offer a streaming mobile TV service as of next month, but with limitations on consumption and quality, the service has prompted industry observers to call the package “less than stellar”.
The DStv Mobile service, to be officially unveiled at the beginning of August, will provide subscribers with 11 channels for R59 a month or R19 a week.
“The cellphone is fast becoming a central platform for media consumption,” says the GM of DStv Mobile SA, Mark Rayner. “The partnership allows us to offer our compelling TV content to a wide audience, via a simple product, at an affordable price.”
While viewers will be able to stream programmes over 3G without incurring data costs, the service has a “fair usage policy” that applies a cap to the amount of viewing allowed per week or per month, depending on the subscription. Weekly subscribers are limited to 45 minutes a week, while monthly subscribers are allowed 180 minutes a month.
The cost for the subscriber, therefore, works out to the equivalent of R19 for one half of a soccer game, once a week, or R60 for two movies once a month.
MultiChoice refused to give further detail or explain why the service is capped, saying it will provide further information after the official unveiling.
Independent analyst Richard Hurst believes MultiChoice is trying to position itself in the market ahead of competition, even if the current form of its mobile TV offering leaves much to be desired.
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