It looks like 2015 - not 2014 - will be the year video-on-demand (VOD) ventures anticipated from SA's mobile operators will take off, now that MTN's video play has been delayed.
In October, MTN revealed its intention to launch a VOD service by the end of November - a timeframe that has come and gone. Chief marketing officer Larry Annetts had indicated MTN would enter the subscription VOD space with a bundle-based offering by the end of November.
However, says MTN, the testing of equipment required for the service is taking longer than had been anticipated. Annetts says MTN is currently "running tests on its systems and communications equipment, which will soon be followed by the launch of VOD".
MTN did not provide further details around the delay - other than to say its products go through tests to ensure optimal reliability and seamless experience - or the deferred timeframe, but Annetts says the company will provide feedback on the actual launch date "at the right time".
VAS ventures
Analysts have predicted the entry of SA's mobile operators - which have been grappling with dwindling revenues as take-up of traditional services is usurped by over-the-top (OTT) players - into popular value-added services (VAS) like video for some time already.
In October last year, Phil Patel, chief officer of the consumer business unit at Vodacom, said the company would put a lot more energy into VAS, which he conceded at the time it had underinvested in.
"[Music and video] are big areas of VAS for Vodacom, but they have not been developed enough. Now that data is affordable enough to start using these services more, we can expand on these. Things like Spotify and video are top of mind for us," said Patel.
Vodacom has since started offering streaming service Deezer to its customers and has confirmed it is looking to extend its content offerings and is pondering VOD - an ambition the company says the fibre plans it has in store will make possible. Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub has said the operator will selectively play in this space, where there is money to be made.
MTN already took the streaming music path about four months prior to the Vodacom/Deezer deal, offering customers services through a partnership with Simfy.
Tough going
During the latter half of this year, local ICT players heeded the demand and opportunity, with Times Media Group and Altech debuting their respective VOD products, and French telco Orange also expressing its desire to follow suit - when the time is right.
But, says ICT veteran Adrian Schofield, mobile operators are between a rock and a hard place. "Their traditional 'skills' are the provision of the network and the connection of the devices. They need new skills if they are to manage the delivery of content, which they must purchase, store and market."
Schofield says convergence suggests operators have no choice but to go this route. He notes one way would be to "own or partner with a DStv" type offering to move the bulk download traffic into the satellite space while keeping the management thereof on the Internet.
Independent analyst Paul Booth anticipates the larger players may start selling off non-strategic assets and investing the money in VAS areas like content and VOD.
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