Free-to-air services are getting a boost due to an unlikely collaboration between two competitors.
Private free-to-air service eMedia Investments, responsible for OpenView and e.tv distribution, is teaming up with public state broadcaster SABC in a new distribution agreement.
The partnership will see SABC 1, 2 and 3 on OpenView, plus three new channels, for sports and entertainment, and the digital broadcasting of 19 radio stations.
During the launch announcement at Southern Sun in Hyde Park, eMedia Investments chief operating officer Antonio Lee said this was a great way to expand their audience.
Currently, OpenView has more than 2.3 million subscribers and the big takeaway is how they would both make money from advertising in the free-to-air subscription space.
He said it would be easy: "Local draws audiences and audiences draw advertising.
"The entertainment and sports channels from SABC will be local. This should draw advertising for both parties."
The sports channel was set to launch in a month and the entertainment channels in the next three months.
Lee said when eMedia had launched its sports channel, it had seen a spike of about 200 activations a day.
"On entertainment, you will see even more. When lockdown eased, we saw a spike in box sales because people needed to watch some form of entertainment."
He added when new channels and better content were launched, the company sold more OpenView box sets – and the SABC offerings would see an upsurge in sales.
In a competitive market, linear TV wasn't just competing with MultiChoice, streaming platforms were challenging a saturated market as well.
"Streaming is slowly taking a hold of the market but it is still expensive if you look at data costs," Lee said.
Ultimately, the broadcasters want to produce quality content, and "there must be a balance between channels and the economic variability between the SABC and eMedia".
