The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa

Globally, developments and innovations in television technology, including the launch and growth of over-the-top television services (OTT TV), have affected traditional pay-TV operators’ ability to grow a subscriber base and retain existing customers. Despite attempts made by the Independent Communi...

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Main Authors: Nokuphiwa Udoakpan, Robertson Khan Tengeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2199-8531/6/4/139
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spelling doaj-1d5f0b27cdb84f6bbbe36b841deb22422020-11-25T04:07:02ZengMDPI AGJournal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity2199-85312020-11-01613913910.3390/joitmc6040139The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South AfricaNokuphiwa Udoakpan0Robertson Khan Tengeh1Graduate Centre for Management, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town 7535, South AfricaGraduate Centre for Management, Faculty of Business and Management Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town 7535, South AfricaGlobally, developments and innovations in television technology, including the launch and growth of over-the-top television services (OTT TV), have affected traditional pay-TV operators’ ability to grow a subscriber base and retain existing customers. Despite attempts made by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to ascertain the impact of the OTT TV on pay-TV services, the results have remained inconclusive. In the absence of a comprehensive assessment and credible evidence, this paper sought to ascertain the impact that OTT TV services have on traditional pay-TV services in South Africa. A quantitative research method was adopted using a non-probability sampling technique for data collection. A total of 391 responses were collected utilising an online survey questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics on IBM<sup>®</sup> SPSS<sup>®</sup> version 26. The main findings of the study showed that OTT TV services are a complementary service to pay-TV services as opposed to a substitute. Low-income earners are using free/paid mobile applications to consume TV content, and for those who have neither OTT TV nor pay-TV services, free-to-air services are the preferred platform for TV consumption. This study benefits all stakeholders in digital media and business strategy, as well as marketing students.https://www.mdpi.com/2199-8531/6/4/139over-the-top television (OTT TV)Pay-TVcord-cuttingcord-shavingcord-nevers
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Nokuphiwa Udoakpan
Robertson Khan Tengeh
spellingShingle Nokuphiwa Udoakpan
Robertson Khan Tengeh
The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa
Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity
over-the-top television (OTT TV)
Pay-TV
cord-cutting
cord-shaving
cord-nevers
author_facet Nokuphiwa Udoakpan
Robertson Khan Tengeh
author_sort Nokuphiwa Udoakpan
title The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa
title_short The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa
title_full The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa
title_fullStr The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The Impact of Over-the-Top Television Services on Pay-Television Subscription Services in South Africa
title_sort impact of over-the-top television services on pay-television subscription services in south africa
publisher MDPI AG
series Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity
issn 2199-8531
publishDate 2020-11-01
description Globally, developments and innovations in television technology, including the launch and growth of over-the-top television services (OTT TV), have affected traditional pay-TV operators’ ability to grow a subscriber base and retain existing customers. Despite attempts made by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to ascertain the impact of the OTT TV on pay-TV services, the results have remained inconclusive. In the absence of a comprehensive assessment and credible evidence, this paper sought to ascertain the impact that OTT TV services have on traditional pay-TV services in South Africa. A quantitative research method was adopted using a non-probability sampling technique for data collection. A total of 391 responses were collected utilising an online survey questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics on IBM<sup>®</sup> SPSS<sup>®</sup> version 26. The main findings of the study showed that OTT TV services are a complementary service to pay-TV services as opposed to a substitute. Low-income earners are using free/paid mobile applications to consume TV content, and for those who have neither OTT TV nor pay-TV services, free-to-air services are the preferred platform for TV consumption. This study benefits all stakeholders in digital media and business strategy, as well as marketing students.
topic over-the-top television (OTT TV)
Pay-TV
cord-cutting
cord-shaving
cord-nevers
url https://www.mdpi.com/2199-8531/6/4/139
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