Both E-tv and Sentech are making headway with their free online video streaming services.

Sentech and E-tv are both working on offering so-called “over-the-top” (OTT) video services that let viewers watch certain content for free on the Internet.

Kathrein TechnoTrend, a set-top box (STB) manufacturer, showcased the online content offering for Sentech’s relaunched subscription-free satellite TV service, Freevision, at AfricaCom 2013 in Cape Town.

While it is understood that the service is still in testing, content was being served over a Vodacom 3G connection through a Kathrein TechnoTrend STB running a customised user interface for Freevision.

According to the spokesperson at the stand, the content will also be available online once Sentech launches the service.

E-tv’s former group executive of new business and platforms, Maxwell Nonge, was also at AfricaCom to present their strategy for broadcasting “to all devices”.

Interestingly, Nonge now heads up Platco Digital, a sister company to E-tv which operates a subscription-free satellite service similar to Sentech’s, called OpenView HD.

Services like Freevision and OpenView HD let viewers pay a once-off cost for the decoder, dish, and installation, after which they access a bouquet of channels without attracting any monthly fee.

Nonge told delegates that E-tv had launched “e On Demand” earlier in 2013 and decided on a modular approach for its OTT play.

The first was OTT video-on-demand, which is currently available through the “e On Demand” website. The second is OTT live television (or live streaming), Nonge said, which has not yet launched.

Source: My Broadband – Jan Vermeulen