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Naspers set to unveil Netflix competitor - report
2015-08-12 16:21:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) African media group Naspers, owner of the pay-TV service DStv, will unveil its competitor to Netflix on 19 August, MyBroadband reported citing sources close to the company. The sources said that Naspers has secretly been working a subscription video on demand (SVOD) service and is planning to launch it in August. Speculation about the deal started after a public relations company often used by MultiChoice sent out an invitation to an event about "the most innovative and exciting entertainment service" in South Africa. The report said that Naspers aims to roll out quickly to large developing economies in order to beat Netflix to market in those regions. Netflix announced at the start of 2015 that it will complete its international expansion strategy sooner than expected, and plans to have a global footprint by the end of 2016. A spokesperson for the company confirmed its plans include South Africa. Naspers already acquired a stake in the VoD provider Icflix in April. Icflix is a UAE-based platform offering on-demand video services in Morocco, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. In addition to offering Indian cinema (Bollywood), Arabic cinema (Jazwood) and Hollywood content, Icflix also announced this year that it had invested in studios to produce original content.
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Category:Telecommunications