The issue of adopting the pay-per-view model against the usual monthly subscription model which is obtainable in Nigeria has been a subject of discourse for a while now.
Some Nigerians strongly believe that the monthly subscription model by digital satellite television service providers is geared towards exploiting Nigerians and this is one argument a number of people put forward whenever the opportunity arises.
A few weeks ago, a member of the House of Representatives from Imo State, Jones Onyereri, raised a motion concerning the issue of digital satellite television services in Nigeria, advocating that PPV should be adopted rather than the subscription-based models.
He argued that Nigerians are made to pay for what they did not enjoy through the monthly subscription scheme presently obtainable in the service charges of major digital television service providers. And one might add, if it is obtainable in South Africa, why not Nigeria?
The fact is that South Africa does seem to know how to get certain things right especially when it comes adopting new technologies. Any wonder why the South African Video-on-Demand market is already nearing a saturation point, a model that is yet to take off in Nigeria. They have witnessed the launch of OnTapTV.com, while Naspers, the South Africa Media giant, which also own one of the most popular digital TV providers in Africa, rolled out its ShowMax service.
South Africa as of today does not possess high speed Internet across the length and breadth of the country yet Naspers group is taking a gamble on content demand in South Africa. The group seems to have placed its bets on a Netflix type platform where consumers can enjoy favourite series titles, movies, and kids’ channels from the United States and United Kingdom.
The hurdle, however, is that high speed data required to enjoy quality streaming in most parts of SA and the rest of Africa does not come cheap, coupled with the challenge of low purchasing power and in the case of Nigeria, recession is biting hard.
The PPV model is widely supported because of its seeming advantages which are not necessarily a bad position to take but the question is this, if we look at the Nigerian situation today, is it really the best option? Do we have adequate infrastructure to make sure it works or should we propose a hybrid model tailored to our environment?
Yes, Netflix’s pay-per-view model has been largely successful which is primarily why the company is now one of the — Finish Reading on the Punch Website
