Naspers-owned video-streaming service ShowMax, and Stuff’s winner of App of the Year for 2015, has announced that it’s added support for DStv’s Explora decoder to the list of devices that support the service. DStv, of course, is another Naspers business, although the two operate as distinct business entities. The Explora support follows the recent addition of support for the latest generation of Apple TV and support for Apple’s AirPlay and Google’s Chromecast.
Of course, to use the service with your Explora decoder it’ll need to be connected to the internet, and you’ll need a paid-up ShowMax subscription. The obvious benefit is that people with the requisite decoder but without a smart TV won’t need to get new hardware should they wish to jump on the binge-watching-friendly streaming wagon.
“In South Africa, interest in internet TV is entering a new phase,” says Barron Ernst, ShowMax’s chief product officer. “In addition to early adopters, we’re now seeing a more mainstream customer base wanting to try the service out. For Explora owners this is a risk-free proposition – binge entire box sets from the very beginning without having to buy any new equipment.”
If you already have an Explora decoder there’s not much you need to do, aside from sign up for ShowMax, because the service will be added to all active DStv Exploras in South Africa “in a phased rollout starting 13 June 2016”.
Existing ShowMax customers, meanwhile, simply need to log in to the service using their existing ShowMax credentials. and, for those who already pay for DStv using a debit order, they’ll have the option to add their ShowMax sub to their DStv account.
Ernst says the company is also developing apps for “additional streaming media devices as well as gaming consoles”.