MultiChoice announced that three additional ISPs would join MWEB as distribution partners for its DStv On Demand service online. These are Vox Telecom, Neology and Cybersmart - the first additional ISPs to meet the group's quality and technology requirements.
"Since we launched the service we have been in discussions with several ISPs about offering it to their subscribers. We're very pleased to announce the first wave of partners and look forward to announcing more very soon," says Jason Probert, GM: DStv On Demand. "Now more subscribers will be able to watch their favourite television shows online."
"The company is continually looking at new and exciting innovations to offer its customers, so we are pleased to announce that we are able to offer this service to our customers with immediate effect. We have no doubt that it will be a valuable addition to our current services," says Clayton Timcke, group marketing manager for Vox Telecom.
"This is a good first step in pushing video-on-demand services in South Africa - a real game changer. The station's insistence on quality over quantity is a breath of fresh air in the ISP space and the basis of our own approach to service delivery," comments Regardt van de Vyver, chief information officer, Neology.
"Our customers have always been able to stream video on our unshaped ADSL and leased line services, but other than the odd YouTube clip there has not been much in the way of content. This On Demand service changes all this. The fact that we can serve this content locally over our peering links, instead of having to fetch it from overseas, improves our customers' experience and does not cost us the earth to run," says Laurie Fialkov, MD of Cybersmart.
The ISP's are working on the integration and service offering and will communicate to their customers once they are ready with their commercial offering.
Probert added that as of this month, the online DStv On Demand offering will include 50 movies per month.
Digimags, very much like websites and e-newsletters, garner immediate statistics about how its intended audience is reacting to and consuming the content; information that is of importance to brands looking to improve customer relationships, increase brand visibility and provide a valuable and appreciated service to their customers.
"NMP understands that in order to obtain and retain customers, content and its personalisation is key," says Maria Tiganis, publishing director for New Media (NMP). "Whilst simultaneously offering our clients web analytics, which they are able to use to improve their customer relationship management, we are also pre-empting how customers want to receive and read their content in future."
"DStv realises that subscribers like to be kept updated about their favourite shows and this is an additional way for viewers to be reminded about what is on during the month," explains Nicci Brown, promotions and relationship marketing manager at DStv. "To date, the success of the digimag is excellent; with the number of views and uploads increasing from issue to issue, since it's launch in July."
A digital offering in the near future will also provide opportunities such as watching previews and movie clips online, giving consumers an even bigger scope for tailor-making their viewing.
