Faced with a decline in subscriber numbers, MultiChoice is pinning its hopes on its video streaming platforms DStv Stream and Showmax.
It wants to ensure the local DStv Stream platform competes effectively with global streaming giants, such as Netflix and Disney+, which have been gradually taking market share from the video entertainment company.
In an interview with ITWeb TV, Rochani Steenkamp, executive head of DStv product, and Daniel Courtenay, executive head of DStv Stream, talk about the recent enhancements to the streaming platform.
They note the company is making use of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and metadata to personalise viewing experiences.
The DStv executives also discuss the competition in the local video streaming market and the future of satellite TV amid the growth of streaming services and smart TVs.
DStv Stream gives viewers access to live and video-on-demand content available per package, with no satellite dish or decoder required.
The JSE-listed MultiChoice recently posted financial results that reflected a dwindling subscriber base and plunging group revenue.
“We are using cluster algorithms and AI to identify and create a model of our customers, and for other customers that have similar models, we would then recommend,” says Steenkamp.
“Let’s say it’s the last item you watched, and based on other people that watched similar content, we would then recommend. We have learnt a lot and it’s amazing what you find because that cluster algorithm is actually using AI to recommend content to you and it’s crazy how accurate it is.
“We use metadata and those models to actually bring back recommendations for you, which is very, very interesting. Someone said to me, it’s so great with this new UI [user interface] that we added a lot of content. We didn’t add more content, just made it easier for you to find content to watch.”
Refining content discovery
According to Courtenay, what separates the great streaming platforms is the way they are able to personalise content recommendations to the user.
“This UI enhancement delivers a marked improvement from a personalisation, recommendation and content discovery perspective. It’s incredible the amount of content you can find that is personally tailored to you based on your watching behaviour.
“Previously, you would have to search a little bit to find a particular match day for the Premier League. We now have tournament pages where everything is housed in one place.”
DStv notes that early numbers show these updates are having a positive impact on the user experience, resulting in a 23% increase in the number of series and movies streamed on demand, a 17% increase in the number of titles that customers have added to their watchlists, and an 8% increase in content watched on DStv Stream compared to the previous month.
“Customers were getting lost with the content on the grids that we had and there was monotony. You would often miss content because it just felt like the same thing over and over again,” says Steenkamp.
“When you see things differently, it draws your attention. Because these trailers are playing, they immediately catch your attention. You don’t feel like it’s the same thing over and over. We are, mathematically, seeing customers finding more content.”
She adds that while the platform has a lot of content, “content discovery is so important to us because if we don’t get the content to you at the right time, you don’t get the right things to watch.
“So we have done a lot of updates in the way we display our content to customers. Now the content is getting pushed to you with lots of personalisation. Now you will find more content to watch. I have discovered content on this platform that I didn’t know was there because the UI is making it easy to watch trailers.”
Steenkamp notes the company had a staggered roll out from 1 August, starting with the web application, before rolling out to other platforms.
“But overall, it was quite a seamless experience for our customers to get these upgrades. We're getting fantastic feedback on how they're using it and what it's meaning for them as a customer.”
Constantly evolving product
Courtenay points out that MultiChoice has been in the streaming business for roughly 10 years in different forms and iterations.
“A lot of people still remember the streaming products as DStv Now, which was our first product back then. When we initially built DStv Stream and presented it to the market, it was actually as a companion to your decoder viewing experience.
“So that has evolved over time. I think in 2021, we changed the name to align it more with our self-service app and it became known as the DStv App, which was more focused on the companion element of things. Every decoder customer was able to access stream for free.
“We then started to think about how we could commercialise the product. Over those two years, we obviously learnt a lot. In 2023, our CEO, Mark Jury, said to us: ‘Now's the time. Let’s put in some real effort by reinvigorating the current products; let’s reposition it; let’s do some enhancements to the UI, etc; and then let's take it to market.’
“During that process, we shifted the name to what it is today, which is DStv Stream. The launch of DStv Stream happened in August last year.
“We wanted to have this product available for our customers for the Rugby World Cup. I won’t dig into the numbers, but we’re really enthusiastic about the trend that we’re seeing in terms of where the product is going.”