MultiChoice Group chief financial officer Tim Jacobs
MultiChoice Group has decided to carry competing streaming television services on its upcoming Explora personal video recorder (PVR) decoder because the broadcaster wants to position itself as a “super aggregator” of content.
TechCentral reported on Wednesday that MultiChoice had signed agreements with Netflix and Amazon.com to offer the companies’ streaming services through its next-generation Explora PVR — expected to be an Internet-connected, 4K-capable set-top box.
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In a presentation published on its website alongside its 2020 financial results, MultiChoice said in a section headlined “Further enhancements to customer experience — improve retention”, that it had signed the Explora content deals with Netflix and Amazon.
Explaining why MultiChoice would include competitor services on its platform – after all, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video compete head on with its own Showmax and DStv Now offerings – Jacobs said: “We are providing choice, simplicity and convenience to the subscriber.”
This presumably means that the consumer’s billing relationship for services like Netflix and Prime Video will be with MultiChoice, though Jacobs declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements ahead of the formal announcement.
