Programming from NBCUniversal will be offered to viewers on MultiChoice Group’s DStv platform in South Africa and the broader region from mid-October through a new streaming service, the companies announced on Thursday.

The Universal+ service, which is being made available as a free, value-added offering to DStv subscribers, will be available across sub-Saharan Africa from 14 October, they said.

Universal+, which has already been launched in Spain, Brazil, Latin America and India, offers reality series, dramas, series box sets and movies from studios such as Universal TV, E!, DreamWorks, Studio Universal and Telemundo.

“DStv subscribers will be able to stream thousands of hours of compelling entertainment, including the Safta award-winning Celebrity Game Night, by visiting Catch Up on the DStv app or connected Explora [set-top box] and selecting Universal+,” NBCUniversal and MultiChoice said in a statement.

“We’re thrilled to launch Universal+ with our long-standing partners DStv, giving their customers a brand-new way to enjoy a vastly expanded catalogue of our best content,” said Lee Raftery, MD for Europe, Middle East & Africa at NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-To-Consumer.

Read: DStv firms up 4K launch for November

MultiChoice South Africa chief operating officer Simon Camerer added: “We are excited to bring the best of international content and the widest possible choice of great shows to satisfy all our viewers.”

MultiChoice has adopted an approach of collaborating with streaming competitors, and offers Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ as streaming apps on its Explora boxes alongside the company’s own streaming service, Showmax.

Read: Our premium DStv base is ‘gradually stabilising’: MultiChoice

It’s not immediately clear whether NBCUniversal intends launch Universal+ in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa independently of the DStv platform at some point. TechCentral has asked the company for feedback on this and will update this article once comment is received. – © 2022 NewsCentral Media