South Africa’s satellite pay-TV landscape has seen huge changes over the past
few weeks with TopTV introducing the country’s first ever prepaid model and
MultiChoice launching six genre-themed, high definition M-Net movie channels on
its DStv Premium bouquet.
Top-TV’s prepaid model (an instant payment method) is positioned as a key
factor in the broadcaster’s turnaround strategy. Since the broadcaster’s
phenomenally successful launch in June 2010, which targeted the LSM 4 – 7
group, the subscriber base has shrunk, necessitating a full review of the TopTV
business earlier this year.
The prepaid model has been introduced to re-activate dormant subscribers and
attract new viewers, particularly in areas outside the main urban centres and
television viewers in the lower income bracket. Prepaid vouchers are available
for purchase at outlets all over the country, including spaza shops in townships.
According to TopTV’s senior vice president of Sales and Marketing Marius
Liebenberg, the broadcaster researched the prepaid model for six months prior
to launch. “The prepaid model has only been introduced in a few countries
around the world and in various different formats. We decided we needed our
own version that is not based on any international model.
“TopTV has put a massive budget behind marketing prepaid. It’s a very targeted
marketing strategy and we hope to do some activations as well. By May next
year there will be over 30 000 outlets selling our prepaid vouchers,’ explains
Liebenberg.
Eddie Mbalo, TopTV interim CEO adds: “Our marketing in general over the past
few months has been more targeted instead of spraying out information to all
and sundry. From April to July this year it’s been more content focused and we
have moved away from decoder marketing to advertising the fact that we have,
for example, 11 movie channels, five news channels and 62 channels in
total.’
Mbalo stresses that local content is important to TopTV. “We want to re-define
the relationships between independent producers and broadcasters and have
been engaging with local producers about licensing their products.
Commissioning local content is still in the future but we are trying to find ways in
which producers can own content.
“I can confirm that we’re on a local content acquisition and licensing drive. If you
look at our schedule in the next few months it will look a lot different.’
According to Mbalo, TopTV has made inroads into stabilising its subscriber base
and currently has approximately 160 000 active subscribers. “We have even
seen a lot of new subscriptions in the past few months,’ he says.
On the HD trail
The total number of HD channels that will be available on MultiChoice’s DStv
Premium bouquet from 1 October will be 14. This includes the six new genre-
themed M-Net movie channels and the existing SuperSport channels. All the HD
channels barring the SuperSport channels and the Discovery HD Showcase
channel will also be simulcast in standard definition (SD) to cater for DStv’s
subscribers with SD decoders as opposed to HD PVRs.
The channels will be available from 1 October when MultiChoice migrates to its
new satellite, Intelsat IS20, which will have a life span of about 15 years and
considerably more capacity than its predecessors.
According to director of M-Net Movie Channels Pierre Cloete, the HD movie
channels have been three years in the planning.
“It also required two years of negotiations as we had to renegotiate contracts
with the studios that we normally do business with, plus do additional deals with
other studios. Effectively M-Net has doubled its movie inventory,’ explains
Cloete.
M-Net has signed all the major studios – Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., Fox,
Universal and Lionsgate. Cloete continues: “We’ve also concluded a new deal
with MGM to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films. The first 22
Bond films will air from 6 October, one each day.
“In addition we’ve signed unprecedented new deals such as, for example, a
library deal with Warner Bros., as well as a new Disney deal for a Princess
festival.’
He notes that M-Net viewers have not really been exposed to genre channels
before, aside from action. “We looked at international channels and even
brought out someone from UK broadcaster Sky to advise us.’
Cloete admits that the new HD offering is a very consumer-centric approach and
a big push to encourage people to buy HD PVRs. “We want to give viewers more
at no extra cost. Our Premiere channel will have five new movies a week. There
will be a fresh movie on each channel each day of the week. Subscribers will
have a choice of two different movies every half hour.’
The HD movie channels necessitated M-Net to restructure internally and create a
separate division as movies previously fell under the General Entertainment
division.
M-Net’s movie genre channels are: M-Net Movies Premiere (HD); M-Net Movies
Comedy (HD); M-Net Movies Family (HD); M-Net Movies Action Plus (HD); M-Net
Movies Drama & Romance (HD); M-Net Movies Showcase (HD); M-Net Movies
Action (SD); and M-Net Movies Stars (SD).
