The continued roll-out of high-speed internet connectivity worldwide is driving a
change in viewing habits. In addition to watching scheduled television, people are
increasingly consuming movies and series via a range of video-on-demand (VOD)
services. On 19 August 2015, multinational media and internet company Naspers
launched ShowMax, a new video-on-demand service for the local market.
At the launch, it was announced that ShowMax has content adding up to more than
a year’s worth of continuous viewing of series, movies, documentaries, a wide
selection of children’s shows, and an array of classic titles. Complete box sets of
heavyweight series’ such as Entourage, Game of
Thrones, and The Wire form the foundation of the service, and
additionally ShowMax brings new shows such as The Late Late Show with
James Corden to local audiences. The content catalogue – which totals more
than 10 000 hours of viewing – boasts titles from major production studios from
across the globe as well as local African content.
John Kotsaftis, general manager of ShowMax South Africa said: “We’re
unashamedly ambitious in what we’re aiming to achieve with ShowMax. The on-going change in viewing habits has given us the opportunity to build a VOD
powerhouse to feed the marathon viewing trend. We’ve got all the best content
from Hollywood and beyond, but at the same time we also have the local content
that consumers here expect. Importantly, we’re bringing this in at an attractive
price, and doing this across more devices than ever before.’
ShowMax is offering a seven-day trial period, with free access to the entire library
in order to test the service. The on-going cost of subscription is R99 per month,
which allows access via five different devices. Two different video streams may be
watched simultaneously on separate devices using the single monthly subscription.
For more information visit the ShowMax
website.
Follow ShowMax on Twitter @showmaxonline.
