Introducing Cell C's entertainment offering: Black

Features include parental control, so kids can watch in a secure and controlled environment, scheduled downloads to save on data costs, recommendations based on total family viewing, up to 48 hours' look-back on BTV channels so that customer can catch up on what they've missed, rent or buy a movie without subscribing to a contract, giving easy access, flexible packages and access to up to five devices, two of which can be watched simultaneously.

Consumers will also get to binge-watch brand new seasons from some of the trending TV shows such as Mary Kills People, Catastrophe, Power, High Rollers, Generations, Skeem Saam, Uzalo, and Survivor’s Remorse, as well as catch up on previous seasons. “We are in discussions with local production companies to bring South African fans top local content and provide a platform for local talent to showcase their work,” Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos added in statement.

On the evening, Surie Ramasary, Black’s CE for content said that the mobile network has been working on this extensively for the last year. “It wasn't an easy task. We first needed to understand the market. Understand what our consumers wanted. As a mobile operator, we really had to look at ourselves and ask ourselves how we operate in this space and what we do from a value-added perspective. We had to decide if we're going to launch it with the other Cell C products and if we were going to launch it as a standalone product and we made the decision to launch it as a separate brand, and the main reason for that is, we wanted to flood the market from a media perspective.”

The product also launches to the South African market as a whole, so you don't have to be a Cell C subscriber to access the app. “Black is available to anyone on any network and that the app is downloadable from the Android app store and will hopefully also be available from the IOS store from 14 November, due to some modifications that still need to be done,” Ramasary added.

Quality experience and premium product

In addition, Black also launched an interactive setup box that will be used to convert a non-smart TV to a smart TV. “It actually converts your TV in a very engaging platform. You can click on a movie and then you can click on the actors and on the Facebook profiles, having the latest information come through,” Ramasary explained. “It allows you to have a completely engaging digital experience. And it's not an on-demand platform. It's not a Netflix or a Showmax. It's an entertainment platform that brings an ecosystem of entertainment to customers.”

She added that it was very important for Black to create a quality experience and a premium product for consumers. “The reason why we named our product Black is because black is premium. If you want a stylish sportscar, you'll always pick a black sportscar, premium events are always known as black tie events, black platinum card, Uber Black, etc. So, we wanted the name to be relevant to what people would be watching on our platform.”

Black vouchers coming

Ramasary also mentioned that they will continue to constantly evolve the application to ensure that they improve on the experience. “We launch with facilities for credit cards, prepaid airtime and we will also be bringing Black vouchers to the market. So, it won’t matter where you are, you will be able to walk into a spaza shop or Pick n Pay and buy Black vouchers, go onto the platform and access content.”

She ended off by saying: “We are really changing the industry in terms of how consumers are consuming their content and how they access it.”

In a release later issued, Dos Santos said this is just the start of what Cell C will bring to the South African market. “You’ll have to wait and see what we do next, but I can tell you this much, we will constantly strive to disrupt the market.”

Go to Black.co.za for more information or to see all the options available.