DStv has a strategy to eliminate the threat from Netflix

MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela is confident that DStv will remain competitive in the South African market despite the influx of international streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+.

According to Mawela, the MultiChoice groups’ offerings include a substantial selection of local content that international streaming services cannot provide.

Speaking to CNN, Mawela indicated that MultiChoice is not nervous about the threat posed by international streaming services.

“I would not use the word nervous,” he said.

“We recognise them and we know they are competitors in the market, and we need to take note of their activities in the market like all other competitors that we are competing with across the continent.”

MultiChoice-owned DStv offers satellite and streaming services focussed on traditional television programming, such as live news and sports.

Mawela said that MultiChoice had built a solid foundation of its own content, which international streaming services cannot offer and which continues to be popular in South Africa and across the continent.

“The competition will happen, but we will see some overlap between the services,” he said.

“Of the content we have pursued ourselves, we are the best in sport and the home of local content in local languages.”

“No matter how fluent people are, they still want to hear the languages that they are able to speak on a day-to-day basis,” Mawela added.

He indicated that this gives MultiChoice a competitive advantage over international streaming services in Africa.

MultiChoice expects its subscriber base on both available platforms to grow over the coming years.

“We are very deliberate in focusing on technology-driven businesses that are going to address the everyday needs of Africans on the continent,” Mawela said.

“We think that with this strategy, we should be able to see great returns for the business going into the future.”

Currently, South Africans have access to international streaming services such as Netflix, Britbox, and Amazon Prime Video, with Disney+ expected to launch in 2022.

Main Image: SowetanLive