Abstract
Globally, developments and innovations in television technology, including the launch and growth of over-the-top television services (OTT TV), have affected traditional pay-TV operators’ ability to grow a subscriber base and retain existing customers. Despite attempts made by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to ascertain the impact of the OTT TV on pay-TV services, the results have remained inconclusive. In the absence of a comprehensive assessment and credible evidence, this paper sought to ascertain the impact that OTT TV services have on traditional pay-TV services in South Africa. A quantitative research method was adopted using a non-probability sampling technique for data collection. A total of 391 responses were collected utilising an online survey questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics on IBM® SPSS® version 26. The main findings of the study showed that OTT TV services are a complementary service to pay-TV services as opposed to a substitute. Low-income earners are using free/paid mobile applications to consume TV content, and for those who have neither OTT TV nor pay-TV services, free-to-air services are the preferred platform for TV consumption. This study benefits all stakeholders in digital media and business strategy, as well as marketing students.
Highlights
Television consumers are increasingly streaming television content online using over-the-top television services (OTT TV) services that distribute online videos through the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP)-based transmission paths [1,2]
The population consisted of 219 pay-TV subscribers, 138 OTT TV
This study further revealed that 6.2% of the first-time subscribers opted for OTT TV services due to the availability of a variety of content provided by OTT TV service providers. 5.4% (n = 21) did not
Summary
Television consumers are increasingly streaming television content online using OTT TV services that distribute online videos through the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP)-based transmission paths [1,2]. These services are known as subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) or online video streaming platforms, and throughout this document, the term OTT TV will be used [3]. The consumer survey initiated by ICASA to “understand consumer behaviour concerning television broadcasting and video-on-demand services”, in its preliminary findings, disputed these complaints, noting that the impact in South Africa is small and imperceptible owing to the unavailability of affordable and quality broadband data [5]
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