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Bruce Ndlovu
DSTV workers in Zimbabwe might be casualties of Multichoice’s ongoing battle with streaming services as it has emerged that the company might be laying off some workers as it seeks to position itself to compete with new kids on the block like Netflix.
According to South Africa’s Sunday Times, Multichoice has asked a large number of its employees across the continent to reapply for jobs as it attempts to create a “leaner business.”
Multichoice employs about 7 000 people across the continent and at least 200 of those are expected to lose employment as the broadcast giant realigns its staff with its new objectives.
“We’re creating a leaner and more agile organisation in order to remain globally competitive,” a Multichoice spokesperson reportedly told the Sunday Times. “We’re looking at different ways to transform our business into a more agile and digitally focused company.”
Despite years of dominance, Multichoice has been in a battle of survival over the last few years, as the entrance of Netflix and other new streaming services begin to eat into its subscriber base.
Although DStv has registered a growth in terms of subscriber numbers, most of the new subscribers have been flocking to its cheaper bouquet options, with many shunning the premium packages.
This has meant that the subscription service now finds itself playing largely on the same field with the likes of Netflix who pride themselves for their cheaper packages which give viewers more freedom and choice on what they want to watch.
In Zimbabwe, Kwese’s iFlix has a package that costs as low as $10 per. In August, it announced that it has as much as 1,2 million subscribers in the country.
“What the growth masks, although Multichoice hasn’t tried to hide it, is the beginning of the decline in the premium packages and that is the writing on the wall for traditional Pay TV,” said World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstruck.
derick.khumalo