Econet Media picked up this year’s Judges’ Award at the IBC media, entertainment and technology convention in Amsterdam this month.
The company was chosen for its effectiveness in pioneering mobile TV and OTT in South Africa through its streaming service, Kwesé Play. This was made possible by various partnerships with technology firms.
Kwesé Play uses technology from Roku and offers access to content like You Tube, Netflix and other channels. Other tech contributors include Verimatrix, for content security, and AWS Elemental, for coding.
Michael Lumley, chair of the IBC judging panel, said: “In our discussions, we recognised that the way the technology partners had collaborated on this project was innovative and successful, but we also felt that the outcome transcended the technology, delivering social change by connecting local people to global content.”
Econet Media is now able to transport its services through its content delivery network with the help of sister company Liquid Telecom. Mobile and broadband networks can access OTT content at low latency across central and southern Africa.
Kwesé Play has content partnerships with more than 150 studios and distributors worldwide, including Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, NBC Universal, Fox, CBS, BBC, Sony Pictures and Discovery.
tagged in: AWS Elemental, Econet Media, IBC, Kwesé Play, Michael Lumley, Roku, Verimatrix