Econet Media, a subsidiary of the company which owns Liquid Telecom,\u00a0has launched Kwes\u00e9 Play in South Africa, in partnership with Netflix.<\/p>\n
The group announced on Thursday that it has also entered into a partnership with Netflix, to offer a three month subscription to the streaming service with each Kwes\u00e9 Play sold.<\/p>\n
Speaking about the deal, Econet Media president and chief Executive officer Joseph Hundah said: “The number of connected homes in Africa continues to grow at an impressive rate and we expect to see strong uptake of Netflix in our markets.”<\/p>\n
“The current number of active subscribers is a fraction of what we (Econet and Netflix) believe the potential to be. We see this as an opportunity to expand Kwes\u00e9\u2019s multi-platform offering while bringing the best in original general entertainment to households across the continent.”<\/p>\n
Maria Ferreras, Netflix vice president of business development for the EMEA region said that African customers are demonstrating enthusiasm and appetite for internet television.<\/p>\n
“We believe they should be able to access the best shows in the world at the same time as everyone else, without the restrictions of a linear schedule,” she said.<\/p>\n
Price and\u00a0<\/strong>availability<\/b><\/p>\n According to reports from MyBroadband<\/a><\/strong>, Kwes\u00e9 Play\u00a0will be sold as a custom-built Roku is priced at R1,599<\/strong>, available from Liquid Telecom, Vox, FNB, Cellucity, and Incredible Connection.<\/p>\n Kwes\u00e9 Play<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is a branded Roku streaming device which lets you connect to over 100 online channels at launch, including Netflix, YouTube, and Red Bull TV.<\/p>\n The device and Kwes\u00e9 Play\u2019s integrated billing services are currently available in South Africa \u2013 with plans to expand to other sub-Saharan African countries.<\/p>\n