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ShowMax: No credit card, no problem

Cape Town – Video streaming service ShowMax has concluded agreements to sell its vouchers in Massmart [JSE:MSM] and Edcon stores as part of a drive to expand access to the service.

On Thursday, the Naspers-owned [JSE:NPN] site announced the deal which will see vouchers going on sale in Game and CNA stores.

“There’s a misconception that internet TV services are only suitable for the select few with credit cards and top-notch fixed internet at home. We’ve taken a different approach at ShowMax and have taken steps to address the unique challenges we have in South Africa,” said Chris Savides, ShowMax head of Payments and Partnerships.

The deal expands the voucher availability as the company adapts its offering for emerging markets where credit card penetration is about 17%.

“We’ve tackled the home internet question by adding download functionality to our Android and iOS apps. This means that as long as someone has WiFi connectivity at some point in the day, they can download TV shows and movies and then watch them during their commute or when they get home,” said Savides.

Video traffic

READ: ShowMax offers offline viewing for Android

ShowMax hosts more than 12 000 hours of content and is designed to cater to an increasing trend of non-linear TV consumption.

Mobile video traffic in SA is expected to grow at 73% as people increasingly stream video content to smartphones.

International rival Netflix offers direct or third party credit card payments.

Internet companies such as Google and Apple have also issues local vouchers to enable people in developing markets to purchase content for mobile devices.

*Fin24 is a division of Media24, a subsidiary of Naspers

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