Netflix not coming to South Africa
Netflix, the US based provider of on-demand Internet streaming media, has poured cold water over suggestions that it will enter the South African market any time soon.
In January, Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko told Bloomberg that he held talks with a host of large media companies including Comcast, Bertelsmann, Naspers, and Netflix, to carry content on the telco’s fixed-line networks.
In February, Telkom extended an invitation to industry to bid for the provisioning of Video on Demand (VoD) services.
Telkom MD of consumer services and retail marketing, Manelisa Mavuso said: “We believe that content has a major role to play in truly differentiating the Telkom offer and we are steaming ahead to deliver this to our customers as soon as possible.”
“It therefore gives me great pleasure to invite relevant stakeholders to submit their proposals through Telkom’s tender process as we seek to find the best service provider to partner with.”
However, speaking to BusinessTech, the US-based content provider shattered any hopes that it would be reaching our shores in the near-future.
“We have no plans yet to enter South Africa,” said Jonathan Friedland, chief communications officer of Netflix.
Rise of Netflix
Netflix claims to be the world’s leading Internet television network, with over 48 million members in 41 countries including Canada, countries in South America and Europe.
In 2012, the group launched as a streaming-only service in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with additional services launched in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, and the Netherlands.
Discussing the group’s Q1 earnings in a conference call on Monday (21 April), Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings said: “We’re very confident of our success in Latin America, as well as the UK. So, we’re making great progress in every country, which is giving us a big ambition for this next round of European expansion.”
Hastings said that Netflix has peering agreements and interconnect agreements with “probably 100 ISPs around the world”.
On Tuesday (22 April), Bloomberg reported that Vodafone Group, parent company of SA carrier Vodacom, is in talks with Netflix to offer subscribers access to streaming movies and television shows. It cited three people familiar with the discussions.
A deal would give Vodafone customers free access to Netflix content for a period of time, Bloomberg said, adding that talks are at an early stage.
“We have all kinds of arrangements with all kinds of operators, and we have nothing to say until we announce them,” Friedland told Bloomberg.
BusinessTech questioned Vodacom on any similar plans it may have for its network.
“We are looking at content deals, but I can’t comment on any specific company,” Vodacom spokesman, Richard Boorman said.
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