Netflix recently reported an unexpected rise in its number of subscribers over the last quarter. The 5.2 million new subscribers was almost double their expected 3.2 million for that quarter.
This does say a lot about the people’s preference and shift to on demand viewing rather than the traditional ways of watching at specified broadcast time. It seems as though people prefer to be in control of what they watch and when they watch it hence the shift from standard national television broadcasts; to Video Cassettes (and discs); to satellite dish; and now online streaming.
This issue of control will always make the demand of on demand viewing soar higher than that of other viewing options. Acknowledging this trend has helped keep Multichoice on their toes and as such has introduced the likes of DStv explorer, DStv on demand, DStv now etc. which is good but I don’t know how much longer those initiatives can keep them afloat considering this recent report which is signifying a sharp rise in the adoption of on demand viewing.
Netflix also reported on how most of these new subscribers were actually from outside the USA hence totalling their international subscribers to more than 52 million. And this of course is good, though it might mean they need to create more diverse and relatable content for its new markets.
Nonetheless, in Zimbabwe Netflix hasn’t become much of a big deal yet probably because of the relatively lower internet penetration and (or due) to the high internet costs. As such, people have preferred to remain in the satellite dish era or have stuck to watching national TV broadcasts (not sure if that’s by choice though). However, I hope that changes soon with the introduction of Kwese TV which is likely to make it big in Africa since their content is localised.
But then again, in Zim we tend to prefer using torrent sites for one reason or the other and in my opinion it’s mostly because of trying to avoid the cost attached to streaming on platforms like Netflix.
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3 comments
Content delivery another win for the operator but would difficult to beat DSTV as channels and content is bidded for would be a non starter to bid against DSTV probably agreements with operators specially regarding live and popular content
I second the notion online streaming is the in thing offered by Netflix the experiential benefits and the personalized approach lures and is a sticky factor for customers. Well true DSTV should watch out as the market leader Netflix is a challenger as Zimbabweans who are aware of it and can afford the services they render do stream using ZOL’s fibroniks. Kwese TV is a market nicher ”watch this space” Competition consists of all organizations operating in the same product/service category!
Netflix will never overtake DSTV as the content is movies series no live content so cheaper kwese tv will never overtake DSTV losing Zimbabwean customers is not a big deal for DSTV as their SATELLITES supply the whole continent with DSTV KU band thats why there are clouds the signal may struggle fiber cannot beat satellite coverage fiber on Quality an speed