Streaming service not-so-free, but SABC is trying

You’ve got to admire the chutzpah of our national broadcaster, the SABC, in announcing that it will take on the likes of Showmax and Netflix by launching a “free” streaming service in the second half of this year.

In reality, viewers of the SABC will be getting nothing like a Showmax or Netflix product, but will just be offered a new platform on which to consume the free-to-air broadcaster’s offerings.

The catch – there always is one, of course – is that viewers will be offered the option of a pay subscription, which will deliver the content without the ads.

READ MORE: How the SABC plans to rival Netflix and Showmax

What the SABC also coyly avoids is the fact that a streaming service consumes reasonably large amounts of data, which is not free, either.

To be frank, the benefits of streaming over a TV in your lounge are not quite clear.

Yet, despite those reservations, it is encouraging to see SABC trying to develop new products and streams of revenue and, in the process, hopefully become less of a drain on taxpayers’ money.

There could also be a gap in the market as people leave platforms like DStv in the face of increasing costs and better alternatives.

It adds variety to the spice of TV life.

READ MORE: SABC wants DStv, Netflix viewers and mobile users to pay TV licence fee

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