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Online TV ShowMax now available to Kenyan viewers


Online TV, ShowMax – popularly referred to Video on Demand (VOD) – has been launched in Kenya.

The subscription video on demand service, on Wednesday launched a two-tier service for watching TV shows and movies via the internet.

This is a first-of-its-kind video concept that directly addresses the needs of Kenyan internet TV consumers, in what has been interpreted as a move to counter popular American streaming giant NetFlix.

Both tiers allow subscribers to either stream content or to download up to 25 shows to watch offline. Downloaded content is valid for 30 days. Data usage is charged separately and works with a customer’s existing data bundles.

The prices will range between Sh330 per month on your mobile with data optimised to offer reduced data consumption with savings of up to 75%.

This has a specific focus on local content, and is paid for using M-pesa. Kenya is the first country to have this second tier added to ShowMax.

LOCAL CONTENT

The second tier ShowMax Premium, will go for Sh880 per month, and it has a full range of international and local content.

“Kenya has all the right ingredients: tech-savvy consumers, rapidly expanding internet connectivity, and an appetite for quality TV shows and movies. So why hasn’t internet TV taken off yet? said ShowMax CEO John Kotsaftis.

Some of the local shows that will be broadcast are favourites such as Real House Helps of Kawangware, Churchill Live, Auntie Boss, and Kona.

Among the international shows that will feature are popular series and movies from Hollywood such as Mr Robot, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Blue Bloods, and The Good Wife.

Subscribers can choose from a number of different download video quality levels. Using the most data-efficient setting, downloading a 20-minute TV show will use approximately 80 MB.

This means that a 7.5 GB data bundle would be enough for more than 90 episodes.