Leading pay-TV services provider, MultiChoice Nigeria, recently unveiled one of its bouquets which it has revamped to include many more channels that offer unrivalled infotainment to the budget-conscious subscriber, reports Daniel Obi.
The long school holidays will normally put many parents in a quandary: how to keep the kids entertained in order to make the extended break from school engaging in a cost-effective manner. For people looking for quality entertainment, content all on one easy-to-access and affordable platform, DStv seems to be stepping into the gap with the announcement that BoxOffice, which used to sit exclusively in the Premium Bouquet, is now available on the Compact bouquet.
This is in addition to the several changes that have been made to the Compact bouquet, which was recently re-launched by MultiChoice. With channels such as M-City, AfricaMagic Urban, AfricaMagic Igbo, AfricaMagic Epic, Eva, Zee World, Trace, SS9, Studio Universal HD, Ebony Life, , Telemundo, Arise News, CNN, Nat Geo Wild, E!, among others, the bouquet is truly a compact of rich infotainment content. And the great news is that all of this comes at a monthly “simply perfect price” of N6, 000!
The value, however, is far beyond the monthly subscription. Chioma Afe, Marketing Manager, DStv, said that MultiChoice continuously evaluates the market and the peculiar needs of its subscribers and potential subscribers. The results from such evaluations arm the pay TV service provider with the insight to offer products and services that meet the peculiar needs of each customer. “The revamped Compact bouquet is packed full of entertainment content particularly targeting subscribers who desire to have the best of entertainment from across the globe.” Recognising the need to segment its offerings as not all of its subscribers require the full bouquet of programming that is available on the Premium subscription, Afe said that the Compact bouquet would meet the need of DStv subscribers whose major desire is great entertainment. “The addition of BoxOffice is a clear indication of the totality of the entertainment package that Compact offers our subscribers,” she added.
BoxOffice, described as the “game changer” in the entertainment industry, is a service that allows subscribers rent movies for a period of time and watch in the comfort of their homes. The service is now available to Compact subscribers who will have the luxury of 20 new movies pre-loaded onto their decoders that they can simply make a selection from, pay and then proceed to enjoy the show on offer. It is as simple and straightforward as outlined. No longer will subscribers have to wait for new releases to be screened at cinemas, or many months for the movies to be released on DVDs; as BoxOffice by DStv offers the same service and its right in your living room.
Martin Mabutho, General Manager, Marketing for MultiChoice Nigeria, said that BoxOffice is poised to change how movies are watched. “What it does is it allows you to rent movies from the comfort of your lounge. You click, pay and watch. What that means is that we are going to shorten the window that it takes for you to get Nollywood movies because we are not only bringing you the best blockbusters or new releases from Hollywood, but we have the best content from Nollywood as well, never seen before movies.”
Once a subscriber successfully completes payment for a movie, it will be available for 48 hours, a window in which the movie could be viewed several times. Thinking of returning to the cinema because you did not see or catch the particular details of a new movie which is yet to be available on DVD? Worry not, as the movie, as far as it is available in the subscriber’s rental window, could be viewed many times with the Explora decoder. You could rewind, pause, fast-forward, and lots of other possibilities with the movie. Although BoxOffice is not meant to replace the cinema as there is a compelling case for people who want to go out to catch fun that only a cinema setting could offer, BoxOffice, however, offers its own unique features and empowers the consumer much more than the cinema setting does.
Combining the Compact bouquet and the Explora decoder, which is the trendiest and most powerful decoder in the market, avails the subscriber so much more.
The Explora has a 2 terrabytes memory capacity, which can store over 200 hours of content. What this implies is that the entire season of those great series such as Game of Thrones, Vikings, and other fantastic series, could be stored for future viewing.
Other benefits of the Explora decoder include advanced content discovery with search results across eight-day TV Guide, Playlist and Catch Up; search system that gives subscribers the capability of searching for movies currently running and upcoming, live sport for the next 24 hours, theme, key words, among many other unique features which previous decoders do not have. Although the Compact bouquet also runs perfectly with other DStv decoders, a combination of the Explora and Compact bouquet gives the subscriber value far beyond the monthly subscription, said Afe.
And there is something for everybody. With the line-up of the AfricaMagic channels and Telemundo, it is non-stop entertainment, while channels such as Nat Geo Wild among several others sit well with viewers who crave the wild life but do not yet have the time to go on vacation to a safari or park. For sports, the SS9 channel headlines the sports offering and the availability of leading news channel, CNN on Compact makes the offer even more compelling. Fashion and music lovers will find Trace and E! channels offering the latest news and music videos of goings on in the industry. “There is something for everybody despite the strong entertainment focus of the Compact platform,” said Afe. The access fee has been set in such a way that it will not constitute a barrier to most subscribers or potential subscribers, she added.
