OPENVIEW HD NOT COMPETING WITH DSTV:MD

OpenView HD will not compete against DStv, according to managing director of Platco Digital, Maxwell Nonge.

Platco, a sister company of E-tv, confirmed in June 2013 that it was planning to launch a subscription-free satellite service called OpenView HD in October 2013.

Nonge explained that OpenView HD will only be open to broadcasters a with free-to-air licence, which at this stage would be E-tv, the SABC, and community broadcasters.

“As soon as people start paying they expect English Premier League and movies as they come off the circuit, and we won’t offer that,” Nonge said.

Nonge said that with the platform they are building, it is possible for them to offer pay TV and satellite Internet, but added that they “are not there yet.”

He said that their focus is on launching OpenView HD which will remain a free brand. “There will never be a day that we will change and viewers will suddenly have to pay,” Nonge said.

Should Platco enter the pay TV or broadband market, Nonge said that those services will be offered under a different brand.

Platco’s sales target is 250,000 households by 31 March 2014 for OpenView HD, and has set itself a target of 500,000 in year 1.

The broadcaster said that this isn’t a set figure, but added that the aim is to acquire as many customers as possible in the first year.

Source: My Broadband