True. But if they do not adapt, they will fail… and Michael Porter will write a nice case study detailing the reasons why the jaggernaut failed… the same way they have written about Nokia, Uchumi, Kodak, and many other companies
Hubris that fails many managers. That is one common denominator of all failing businesses. Individual people walk in and are shooed away by all knowing managers. Before long they become a critical mass and vote with their feet and money. Kodak for example was killed by a technology it invented; digital photography despite having access to world class consultancies. Why do you think it happened? Couldn’t the all knowing managers and their consultant strategists figure it out? Nokia had the rug pulled under their feet simply because its managers and retinue of consultants couldn’t figure that Android and not Symbian was the new world order. In my extended family, I only know of one doctor cousin who still pays for dstv. Wengine wote tumehamia android boxes, smart TVs and Amazon fire sticks thanks to affordable internet. That is radically different from three years ago where over half the families had an active DSTV connection.
My point is, they may still have things figured out but change is rapidly eating away their assumed niche. Other than EPL, majority of the subscribers would kick them in the teeth.
Some of the factors are beyond their control. Remember that the content people like most is soccer which they buy rights to distribute. The owner of the rights dictates how they want that soccer to be accessed. The rights are also expensive and that is why you see a Guiness logo in the game and many adverts. DSTV is trying to make as much money as possible and having pay per view means you lose alot on selling ads before and after the game. From one game, DSTV makes money from ads before, during and after…plus they replay the game and do highlights and stuff throughout the month and make ad revenue on those shows. The owner of the rights also knows they dont need DSTV to do pay per view…they can go via Amazon, Netflix and other internet players or invest themselves. Govts in countries DSTV is in also charge license fees and taxes and having pay per view means you lose out on predictability coz one week someone pays, the next week they dont pay so you can make alot on one weekend but the whole week you make zero. They also sell advertizing during boring shows that few people watch, pay per view means this income will reduce drastically. Let DSTV continue with their strategy, those who are unhappy can start their own company to compete. If it was so easy, we would not have illegal streams.
DSTV can do pay per view, but it will be around 500 bob per game. This is very expensive, more than 7k per month for most games, so you will probably watch ur favorite team or a few big games and for the other teams you will check the scores online. Hutajisumbua kulipia Aston Villa games…this means football loses in the end coz no one will watch the small teams play and the soccer management know this. They want you to watch as many games as possible.
They tested Pay per view in the UK and it was £14 per game. That is around Ksh. 1,800 per game…they are now scrapping it.
https://www.digitaltveurope.com/2020/11/06/epl-likely-to-scrap-ppv-claims-new-report/
Funny reading pirates predicting the demise of DSTV and purporting to offer business advice on its direction.
Meanwhile on the ground
South Africa-based pay TV operator MultiChoice has agreed to add Netflix and Amazon Prime Video to its TV offering and has posted solid year end results.
"MultiChoice said in its results presentation that it had agreed deals with Netflix and Amazon to integrate their services into its Explora decoder.
The pay TV operator has also launched field trials of its own DStv streaming product.
“We have long been a content aggregator, and this is proof of our aggregator model at work – providing simplicity, choice and convenience for our customers,” said CEO Calvo Mawela.
“As our industry evolves, we believe that we are well positioned to benefit from both worlds – a large, growing pay TV market in Africa, as well as an emerging over-the-top opportunity, where our own OTT services and aggregation capabilities can drive success.”
MultiChoice said that its own DStv streaming offering would launch later this year.
The company already provides a streaming offering, Showmax, which is also available on Explora and can be seen as a competitor with Netflix and Amazon to some extent, and the move to integrate the latter represents a significant shift in strategy. Showmax recently began trialling streaming sports.
MultiChoice operator posted solid results for the year ending March 31. It added 900,000 90-day active subscribers to its service year-on-year, representing growth of 5%.
The additions took the operator’s overall base to 19.5 million, split between 8.4 million in its home market and 11.1 million in the rest of Africa. Subscriber growth in South Africa was up 0.5 million or 6%, while the rest of Africa was up by 0.4 million or 4%.
Revenue was up 3% to ZAR51.4 billion (€2.7 billion) and included ZAR42.8 billion in subscription revenue which increased 4% year-on-year. The company said its top-line growth had been hit by relatively modest subscriber growth due to rising pressure on consumers, a decision not to increase prices of its premium package in South Africa, which led to revenue growth of only 1% in that market, and the fact that last year’s growth benefitted from specific once-off events.
Thanks to cost containment it achieved a 14% increase in trading profit to ZAR8.0 billion, up 29% on a like-for-like basis, with ZAR1.4 billion in cost savings and a ZAR1.8 billion organic reduction in losses in the rest of Africa contributing to the uplift.
MultiChoice said it expected the coronavirus pandemic to have a negative effect on the economies of the countries it serves, with an unknown net impact on its financials for the coming year"
MultiChoice to integrate Netflix and Amazon, launch DStv streaming product - Digital TV Europe
Nobody doubts their sterling performance. And we are not pirates. The future always depends on the innovation and adaptatability of a firm. I am yet to be convinced that their current model is sustainable in the long run. They must continue paying for the soccer rights, before Netflix outfoxes them there and they will not survive. Anf anything is possible… Multichoice is arrogant.
You missed the point by a mile but ni sawa. Multichoice is not the first company to have sterling performance. So imagining that their sterling performance today cushions them tomorrow is stupid. The problem with Multichoice’s model is their mode of delivery and billing in light of increasing internet penetration across Africa and the rise of mobile devices. A goal in football will remain a goal even when announced in Arabic. No? Read up about unconventional competitors and try to put it in Multichoice’s context.
Hii ndio shida ya ujuaji .You guys are assuming that they are inflexible buffoons who who soon go the Nokia way .Your assumption is out of ignorance because they have a digital strategy .They have a Netflix competitor with millions of subscribers .The Android App alone has 10 million downloads and you can even stream soccer and so many other sports on the app .
So wewe na huyu mzee ,how do you purport to offer multichoice business advice na hamjui wako na a serious Netflix competitor ?