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Cape Town - An online platform is seeking to disrupt the content distribution industry in South Africa.
Workonline Communications plans to launch the Africa Media Exchange (AMX) which will allow content to be directly distributed to consumers.
The AMX platform could revolutionise television in SA because content can be encoded to be device specific in real-time, giving consumers the opportunity to watch media on any medium they choose.
The other benefits are set to include faster downloads of digital video content and lower costs for distributing that content in SA.
The company, though, has not revealed which content players are set to use its services.
“The exchange essentially simplifies the media and broadcast industry. For content distributors, it will mean considerable cost reductions, time efficiencies and improved reliability,” said Edward Lawrence, Workonline Communications Business Development Director.
“It opens far more channels for the exchange of content, and provides choice and flexibility compared to the traditional broadcast channels,” said Lawrence.
AMX is set to launch in March 2015 and Lawrence is bullish about how the platform could change the industry.
“Being a first for Africa, AMX will revolutionise the media industry. We are truly excited about the launch of this project and look forward to the opportunities it is going to present for local content distribution networks and content originators.”
Practical challenges
The platform is launching at a time when SA is struggling with its digital terrestrial TV migration project, which has been delayed since 2008.
The African National Congress (ANC) recently said that the government should move swiftly to meet the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadline of June 2015 for migration.
"Lekgotla has directed the finalisation of the digital migration process to support broadband roll out. Government must move with the necessary speed to meet the deadline of 15 June 2015," said the ANC.
But serious practical challenges on how the SABC will adapt as well as the production and distribution of the set-top boxes remain.
DStv currently dominates the pay TV market in SA. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)
Currently, Multichoice has the largest market share for pay TV services in SA and wide adoption of AMX could upend the incumbent’s business model.
There have also been a number of streaming services that have recently launched in SA, including Vidi, MTN's FrontRow and DStv's own Box Office.
“For content originators and producers, particularly pan-African content networks, the exchange provides a platform for their content to reach a far broader, global audience, through the most apt channels,” Lawrence said.
“Additionally, for the end consumer, it means a far large availability of content at a better cost,” he added.
Local online content
According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, video data traffic will grow at 45% per year to 2020 - that means that video consumption will grow 17 times larger in the next six years than in the previous six year period.
The company found in its Consumer Lab report that 2014 also saw a marked change in behaviour. More people watched streaming television than broadcast TV for the first time in the US, South Korea and Spain.
Consumers in SA have demonstrated an appetite for local online rich media content.
Project Isizwe’s Wi-Fi TV service in the City of Tshwane revealed that Wi-Fi TV hit a record one million downloads at the end of January.
A significant percentage of the content available on that platform is locally driven, demonstrating the appetite for relevant content.
"This is surely a game-changer. Over 50 000 people have downloaded the segment where the mayor gives awards to the Tshwane Top 21 matrics. Who does that? Only people that are really interested in what's happening in their own town," said Alan Knott-Craig jnr, CEO of Project Isizwe.
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