The South African pay-TV market is going to become more competitive with On Demand Media (ODM) planning to launch in the second quarter of 2009. One of the key differentiators of ODM to DSTV is that subscribers will have the option to tailor make their packages depending on their viewing needs.
DSTV have always stated that a business model where customers choose their bouquet is not commercially viable, so it will be interesting to see how ODM fairs.
ODM’s planned subscription will cost between R150 and R350, depending on the viewers level of choice. They could not yet say how many channels each package would allow for. There will be six categories from which ODM subscribers can choose from:
- news and knowledge
- movies
- family and sport
- kids
- music
- cultural programmes
The ODM decoder will retail for around R400 and will be mpeg 4, DVD and S2 compliant.
Another thing I am interested in is will ODM offer HD viewing? Or is this something they are planning to incorporate in the future? Also, how will their channel offering differ from DSTV? Will they be able to compete, or will they be the poor man’s DSTV choice? Only time will tell.
The price plan of the decoder says that the viewing is not going to be in HD at present – don’t think HD decoders that cheap are available just yet. Oh well – looks good now I just hope they get the right balance of channels.
Thanks for the info Shalil. It’s unfortunate that ODM won’t be offering HD as a part of their package, although I do hope they consider it in the future.
Looks good…..not worried about HD……will you be able to work it through the PVR……?
Hi Misty, ODM is a totally new service. PVR decoders are linked to DStv, so no, you won’t be able to link it to your PVR. Hopefully ODM’s decoder will have a recording ability built in.
Ahoy mate is the decoder out jet or not and the channel options ??
MEN WHY AINT YOU LAUNCHING,ITS THE END OF JUNE..HOPE YOU WONT DISSAPOINT US LIKE GTV.
When are they launching? We’re almost into the 3rd quarter of 2009 and still no advertising, heck, I can’t even find a website for them! I need more info on this.
its now december and where r these guys? ODM r missing big business wen the wirld cup is around the corner. at least a website wit info would do.
this is good news,
so we have to get a separate decoder, what about the dish?
and will they have better signal when it rains
You don’t need a seperate dish, only decoder. They will retail for around R400. Not sure about the signal though!
Need installation company or agency?
when are the specs of the decoder out and I know its Althech that are the main distributers but when are u going to be able to view a list of the channels available as well?
Please can you assist me with the contact number of Eloise @ ODM?
Hi Shamela do you know of any info regarding the channels or prices or decoder specs that I can see or read up on?
so when is all of this going to happen tired of been ripped off.
I need to know who is the agency they are using to hire, or what the receuitment procedures will be.
R400 for the decoder and R100 per month is reasonable for satelite service …
but how realiable will ODM BE ? What garantees does the client have ? is there fixed subscriptions or month to month type ?
ODM’s target market differs from DSTVs. They aren’t in the market to rip people off. This is just the start for them anyway. The launch for ODM is tomorrow and decoders will be available on Saturday. Future plans include HD content and something similar to PVR but at a much lower price. Also the number of channels will increase soon.
3/5/2010 bought decoder what do i do next
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