At R99 a month, Showmax seems to offer plenty of bang for your buck, owing to its deals with big-name studios. However, those wanting to watch on their gaming console have been out of luck, until now. The Naspers-owned service announced that "as of today", the Xbox One version of the Showmax app is available to download. "The addition of the Xbox One app is the latest step in the continued development of Showmax," the company wrote in an emailed press statement. To grab the app, you'll need to visit the Store tab on the Xbox One, use the search field to...
Vodacom has today announced a new set of data bundles for video streaming addicts. Dubbed Video Data Bundles, the company is hoping the deals will make "streaming services a lot more affordable for its customers". Notably, the packages are available for prepaid users, including customers on top-up and post-prepaid plans. "Video Data Bundles have been created specifically for OTT services, like Showmax and DStv Now. The bundles will be sold alongside the general data bundles, across all channels, and will be offered in various sizes, validity ranges and pricing," the company notes in a press release. And yes, at present, the bundles are...
Showmax users can now download and stream content for free through one of 83 VAST WiFi hotspots across South Africa, the company today announced. This comes after a partnership was struck to zero-rate Showmax data on VAST's networks, set to last for a three-month period. "Thanks to the downloads feature on Showmax, this zero-rated data means much more than just having something to watch while you're at the mall," explains Chris Savides, head of Showmax Africa. "Once you log onto one of the VAST WiFi sites, download up to 25 TV shows or movies and the data won't cost you a cent....
As it slowly transforms from a social network into a media company, Facebook Watch is the company's latest step into the latter. With its website and apps running out of space for ad placements, an entirely new video app which feeds off the Facebook name seemingly makes business sense. The service is the company's social video platform, which will host a number of Facebook-funded shows, sports and shows from outside creators. There's no word on whether the entire swathe of video on Facebook will be available on Watch. "Shows are made up of episodes -- live or recorded -- and follow a...
The Walt Disney Company will launch its own streaming service as soon as 2019, the company announced. Following this week's acquisition of BAMTech -- the company behind live streaming of major US sports, including Major League Baseball, WWE and the National Hockey League -- Disney noted that it will also lunch an ESPN-branded "multi-sport video streaming service" in early 2018. The deal sees Walt's company dropping an additional US$1.58-billion to secure an additional 42% stake in the firm. It previously owned just 33%. This values BAMTech -- which was owned by Major League Baseball's internet company, MLBAM -- at around US$3.75-billion. "The...
Christopher Nolan has come out in defense of theatrical distributions ahead of his latest film Dunkirk's release. In an interview with IndieWire, the director called Netflix's distribution policy "mindless" in that it requires content to be simultaneously released on digital and in theatres. "I think they're missing a huge opportunity," he said. "You can see that Amazon is very clearly happy to not make that same mistake. The theaters have a 90-day window. It’s a perfectly usable model. It’s terrific." Christopher Nolan had a few choice words about streaming service Netflix this week, calling it 'mindless' Nolan is famous for his determination to shoot on film, and works to optimise...
Netflix has had a remarkable week, nay, a remarkable past three months. The company has unveiled its financial report for Q2 2017, and it's markedly better than analysts' forecasts. And that pushed the streaming firm's stock price up by 10.7% after hours. As for the hard numbers, the most positive gain can be seen in its increased user base. Netflix's streaming membership base now stands at 104-million, up from 99-million in the previous quarter. This is largely thanks to massive gains internationally. The company added 4.14-million subscribers in Q2 2017 beyond the United States' borders -- that's nearly double the estimates analysts provided...
Julia Anastasopoulos of SuzelleDIY fame is joining forces with ShowMax in its first original production, the company today announced. The streaming service revealed that filming for the show, dubbed Tali's Wedding Diary, is currently underway in Cape Town. The eight-part show will take the form of a mockumentary, with Anastasopoulos starring as titular character Tali. "Building on the phenomenal success of her SuzelleDIY character, Anastasopoulos stars as Tali, a self-obsessed Sandton princess who’s moved to Cape Town and has hired a documentary crew to film the build-up to her wedding to property-agent fiancé Darren," reads ShowMax's press release. Julia Anastasopoulos and Ari Kruger...
This is it: month six. There's no going back now. We're halfway through the year, and we may as well celebrate with some good old Netflix and chill (Is that still a thing? I'm getting old.) Either way, the streaming site has a slow June, with only eight original films and shows being released globally in the month (presumably to do with its US summer schedule.) Here's the best of what's coming to Netflix South Africa this month. 2 June: Flaked Will Arnett's Flaked is back for a season two that sees Chip's unwelcome return to Venice. "Flaked is a dry human comedy about a slice of life...
Three months after ShowMax announced that it will offer its service in Poland, the South African video streaming company is now partnering with one of the country's chief mobile operators. Play, the operator at the centre of the deal, will now offer ShowMax to its eight-million contract customers. Those with mid- to upper-tier contracts -- the majority -- will receive ShowMax services for free for 12 months. Those in the lower contract brackets will receive one month free. ShowMax will be free to Play's contract subscribers for 12 months "The level of interest in Showmax since our launch in Poland earlier this year...
Messaging service BBM now has its own streaming video service. Dubbed DiscoverTV, the service aims to provide Africa's 1.1-billion smartphone users with "a wide variety of award-winning short form shows, selected from a diverse range of mobile movies, channels, cartoons and documentaries", the company explains in a press release. This content is available from within the BBM mobile app's Discover menu. Alongside the content, the payment payment methods are also better suited to the continent's mobile-first market. Users pay R1 per day for "unlimited access" to their favourite channel, but can use the service for free for the first month. BBM DiscoverTV is the...
We're five months into 2017, and time has shown no sign of just, like, slowing down for a little bit. As the great @horse_ebooks once said: "Everything happens so much." But luckily for us, "everything" includes the good. And that means that Netflix happens so much, too. So why not forget about the passing of time this month by binging the latest Netflix originals? 5 May: Sense8 From the creators of The Matrix, Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers from around the globe who develop an intense internal connection. On 5 May, the cluster is back for a second season, ready to explore the themes of love,...
Netflix has seen some solid growth since its massive expansion, and now, the company is on track to pass the 100 million user mark in the second quarter of 2017. The streaming colossus saw its users jump from 81.5 million in Q1 2016 to 98.75 million in Q1 2017, its investor report showed. To be fair, the number includes both paid and non-paid users. "We expect to cross the 100 million member mark this weekend. It's a good start," the service added. It's also worth noting that the company's international user additions saw a notable year-on-year drop. "International net additions decreased 22% year over...
It's Easter this weekend, and ShowMax's timing is seemingly impeccable. The streaming service has this week announced that it has acquired exclusive rights to The Young Pope, the HBO and Sky hit show that made quite a splash late last year. "In an African first, Showmax has secured the rights to the critically acclaimed joint HBO and Sky production The Young Pope starring Jude Law and Diane Keaton. The controversial series, which portrays the first American Pope as simultaneously hip, mysterious and ultra-conservative, was directed by Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentinom," the company notes. The show's first season will hit the service on 13...
New month, new you, same confusing Netflix website. There's a lot of fresh content coming to the streaming service in April, but it's a cumbersome and confusing process trying to figure out which are going to be available in South Africa and which aren't. Worry not: we here at Memeburn know how simple all aspects of Netflix binging should be, so here's a list of the best exclusives coming to your devices this month. 7 April: The Get Down The second season of the critically acclaimed The Get Down is premiering the first Friday of April and will be available in Ultra HD 4K for...
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