MultiChoice Kenya discontinues DStv, GOtv mobile TV service in favour of DStv Now app

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MultiChoice Kenya is planning to terminate mobile television services because of fast-changing technology in the broadcasting sector and growing internet penetration. In a notice to its customers, it said its DStv and GoTV mobile service would be unavailable from 01 September.

MultiChoice launched the service in Kenya in 2011 after first starting it in Southern African markets in 2007. The Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) television service was aimed at middle-class subscribers who wanted all-day access to its programmes.

Subscribers will now be required to watch content on the go through the firm’s DStv Now app. As technology has evolved, and with the introduction of broadband, streaming of audiovisual content to devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops has become more attractive, said MultiChoice.

The pay-TV provider’s first mobile product relied on an internet connection from telephony operators before the firm later launched DStv Drifta, which converted the DVB-H signal to Wi-Fi for mobile devices. The Drifta cut subscriber reliance on data from telephony operators and also allowed DStv and Go-tv mobile subscribers to watch several channels.