Kwesé Play shuts down

Econet Media has confirmed that its Kwesé Play streaming service is entering liquidation.

The announcement comes weeks after Kwesé TV went into administration. Despite US firm Roku, which provided the devices on which Kwesé Play runs, revealing its partnership with Econet had ended, Econet has waited until now to confirm the service is being shuttered.

“It is with deep regret that we are announcing the liquidation of Kwesé Play,” Econet said in a statement.

“A few weeks ago, Roku, our technology platform partners, deactivated all the Kwesé Play devices in our markets and customers have been unable to use them to watch Netflix, YouTube and other apps on their TVs.

“We’ve spent considerable time negotiating with Roku in order to reactivate the devices, but have unfortunately been unsuccessful. This means that the Kwesé Play devices will remain deactivated and will no longer work.”

A Roku statement added: “Econet licensed our platform to deliver the Kwesé Play streaming service to its customers. Econet is shutting down the Kwesé Play service and is no longer working with Roku.”

Econet intends to compensate its customers with airtime equivalent to wait they paid for their Roku device. “In recognition of your unwavering support, Econet Media is offering you airtime equivalent to the purchase value of the Kwesé Play Roku device you acquired,” the company said. “You are free to use the airtime for all your voice or data transactions. The airtime shall be valid for a period of 30 days from the date of credit.

“It’s only customers who bought the devices that will be compensated and not those who got it for free.”

Kwesé Play was launched in partnership with US-based OTT platform Roku in 2018.

tagged in: Econet Media, Kwesé Play