Naspers’ subscription video on demand service, Showmax, launched a two-tier service in Kenya yesterday.
Apart from its usual offering which has a full range of international and local content, ShowMax Premium, it launched in conjunction with Safaricom, another offering called ShowMax Select.
ShowMax Select is a mobile-first, data optimised product that offers reduced data consumption with savings of up to 75%, has a specific focus on local content, and is paid for using M-PESA. Kenya is the first country to have this second tier added to ShowMax.
This is a first-of-its-kind video concept that directly addresses the needs of Kenyan internet TV consumers.
Both tiers allow subscribers to either stream content or to download up to 25 shows to watch offline. Downloaded content is valid for 30 days. Data usage is charged separately and works with a customer’s existing data bundles.
Speaking about this for ShowMax, John Kotsaftis said:
“We don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. Kenya has different needs and tastes to other countries and deserves something designed specifically for Kenyans. ShowMax is the first international internet TV service that’s priced in KSh and paid for using M-PESA. It’s the first to put strong emphasis on local content including having sports clips. It’s the first to be optimised for mobile usage, reducing data consumption by as much as 75%. And it’s the first to deliver all of this at an affordable price point.”
ShowMax Premium is priced at KSh 880 per month, while ShowMax Select goes for KSh 330 per month
Subscribers can choose from a number of different download video quality levels. Using the most data-efficient setting, downloading a 20-minute TV show will use approximately 80 MB. This means that a 7.5 GB data bundle would be enough for more than 90 episodes.
Speaking about the consumer uptake of video on demand services, John Kotsaftis said:
“Kenya has all the right ingredients: tech-savvy consumers, rapidly expanding internet connectivity, and an appetite for quality TV shows and movies. So why hasn’t internet TV taken off yet?
“It doesn’t matter how good your service is if you don’t first solve the data challenge for customers, particularly for the majority of people who rely on mobile internet. That’s why we designed data-saving features and the ability to download content into ShowMax from the outset. With these features and a strong focus on local content, we think ShowMax will finally crack the internet TV model in Kenya.”
The South African based Video on demand service clocked up to 10 million views, which is equivalent to 700 years’ worth of TV shows and movies on its first year anniversary.
