By Botlhale Koothupile
Move over Netflix! So you Amazon. Here comes Botswana’s own, Mascom MyPlay.
Botswana’s entertainment landscape will never be the same again! At least for the multitudes of Mascom Wireless subscribers and possibly local content producers.
The local telecommunication giant last week launched its own entertainment streaming service platform, Mascom MyPlay.
The Video-on-Demand streaming service will, according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Jose Couceiro, ‘allow subscribers to watch what they want, when they want it and on any device they want to watch it.’
Tapping into the fast growing streaming services trend, which has seen the rise of giants like Netflix and Amazon, the platform will offer subscribers entertainment as and how they want it.
Modelled along the above-mentioned streaming giants, Mascom MyPlay will offer subscribers the latest in movies, music, series and kiddies entertainment all through subscription.
The new service, a first of its kind for Botswana, also allows the local telecommunication giants to diversify its portfolio.
According to the Global Video-on-Demand market 2019 ÔÇô 2023, it is focast that ‘the Global Video-on-Demand (VOD) Market to grow at a CAGR of 11.30% during the period 2019-2023.’
The report from further forecasts that Sub Saharan Africa will see its VOD subscribers rise from 1.56 million as at the end of 2017 to at least 9.99 million by the year 2023.
With the new service data driven, Couceiro intimated that starting next year, the local telecommunication provider will improve its infrastructure to ensure a smooth streaming experience for subscribers.
He intimated that they intend to have all villages with populations of 5000 or more to have access to fourth generation (4G) broadband cellular network technologies.
This will allow for subscribers to have a smooth viewing experience, whether they watch on a mobile device, a smart tv or even a personal computer.
Commenting on the new offering, Mascom Chief Marketing Officer Dzene Makhwade-Seboni intimated it will offer them a chance to distribute their content to a larger audience.
While no local content is available on Mascom MyPlay now, Makhwade-Seboni said it would be available once they have necessary procedures and processes in place.
The new service will be accessed through the Digital Entertainment on Demand (DEOD) platform, which can be downloaded through the android google play or in the ITunes App store for Apple users.
