Canada's Shomi to compete with Netflix

27 Aug 2014

MONTREAL CANADA: Two of Canada's largest cable companies teamed up to launch an online television service to compete with Netflix, amid fears of dwindling traditional television viewership.

Shaw's Barbara Williams says the new streaming service, Shomi comes as a result of changes in what people watch on television and when they want to watch it. Shomi is planning to compete with Netflix. Image: World Media Fest

Shomi, the new video-on-demand service launched by Roges Communications and Shaw Communications, will offer subscribers 1,200 movies and 340 television series initially on computers, tablets, smartphones, Xbox 360 game consoles and set top boxes.

The service starts in November for Can$8.99 per month.

"We keenly understand the media landscape is rapidly changing and that viewers are looking for greater flexibility when it comes to what they watch and how they watch it," said Shaw's Vice President Barbara Williams.

"Shomi is our first step into the new world of content streaming," she added.

Telecommunications company Bell Canada has also told regulators it will soon launch a similar service.

Since it launched its streaming service in 2007, Netflix has become the world's leading Internet television network and streams more than a billion hours, collectively, of digital films and television shows to online viewers each month.

The number of its subscribers tops 50m in over 40 countries, according to its latest financial figures released in July.

Regulators say more and more Canadians are tuning into online movie streaming websites such as Netflix, but it has not yet impacted on traditional television viewing.

The number of Canadians who subscribed to Netflix grew from 3.5m in 2011 to nearly 6m in 2012, while the number of Canadian basic television subscribers increased by one percent to 12m, according to the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)'s latest figures.

The CRTC is now considering an overhaul of the way Canadians watch television and the prices they pay for cable or satellite television services.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge

Source: I-Net Bridge

For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.

We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.

Go to: http://www.inet.co.za