Ster-Kinekor is considering offering a transactional video-on-demand service in South Africa, CEO Wanda Matandela has told MyBroadband.<\/p>\n
Video on-demand (VOD) services tend to come in two flavours: subscription and transactional.<\/p>\n
Netflix and ShowMax are examples of subscription VOD services, while iTunes Movies and DStv BoxOffice are examples of transactional VOD.<\/p>\n
Matandela said that even though international companies like Netflix, Apple, and Google are offering on-demand services locally, there will be room for them to enter the market.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor watching movies, Ster-Kinekor has the stronger brand in South Africa,\u201d said Matandela.<\/p>\n
Ster-Kinekor also has a more diverse audience, he said.<\/p>\n
While Matandela stopped short of saying it, Netflix has made no secret of the fact it is currently targeting wealthier households. You can\u2019t subscribe to its services in South Africa without a credit card.<\/p>\n
For Ster-Kinekor to enter the VOD arena, it would have to launch a service that sets it apart from ShowMax and Netflix while appealing to its diverse market, said\u00a0Matandela.<\/p>\n
While its content licensing relationships will be important to make such a venture a success, there are several other factors that must be taken into account.<\/p>\n
Chief among these is the cost of data. For VOD services to really take off in South Africa, broadband will have to be more accessible first, said Matandela<\/p>\n
Matandela\u2019s comments come two years after the CEO Ster-Kinekor Entertainment, Mario Dos Santos, told MyBroadband they would be \u201cremiss\u201d if they didn\u2019t launch a VOD service.<\/p>\n
Dos Santos said that his view is that the South African market for on-demand content is very limited, and that there will be a content bloodbath<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n He said there would be an explosion of VOD providers, followed by a period of consolidation that would leave only one or two players surviving.<\/p>\n More on Ster-Kinekor\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n You can now order and eat pizza at Ster-Kinekor cinemas<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n