TechCentral spoke to eMedia chief technology officer Junior Qwabe to learn more about the broadcaster's strategy behind the newly launched set-top box. He said Openview needed a box that would appeal to the wide range of viewers on the platform.
"The internet is more accessible to households in the higher LSMs living standards measures. We deal with a lower LSM than our competitor in the satellite space DStv , so we had to figure out how to give more to our consumers by allowing those who want to connect to free-to-air content via satellite while giving those with data access to additional content via streaming," Qwabe said.
Openview's viewers span a wide range of income levels all the way from LSM 3 to LSM 8, he added. This means that for many Openview customers, constant internet access is a luxury. Yet, a significant portion of Openview customers is getting improved access to the internet, even if this access is intermittent when analysed on a monthly basis.
"Most of our viewers have to buy data they don't have fibre connectivity where they can stream 24/7. We have introduced a catch-up feature for them so they can watch their favourite shows at their convenience via streaming while maintaining access to scheduled programming via satellite. They can also access additional movie content via streaming," said Qwabe.
The sleek design extends to the decoder itself, which is not only smaller in size compared to its predecessor but also features more rounded corners.
