👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Openview and watch ads

After paying for Netflix, Showmax, Disney+, Prime Video, Spotify, and YouTube Premium, another monthly subscription can start to feel like doing too much. But we’re not sure this streaming brand cares about the choice paralysis it is enabling.

eMedia, the South African broadcaster that operates the streaming platform eVOD, has introduced Openview Stream to the market. 

Too many subscriptions? Ditch them. Openview Stream is free to watch in Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and Mauritius. But the catch is you’ll pay with your attention instead of your wallet, because the platform is funded by advertising. Think of it as one of those… interesting streaming platforms, such as MovieBox (wink wink), that allows you to watch movies for free in exchange for sitting through and clicking on ads. 

Explain like I’m new here: Openview Stream is what’s known as a FAST service—Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV. Netflix, except you don’t pay a subscription fee. Instead, advertisers pick up the bill, and you “pay” by watching commercials between live TV channels and on-demand shows. Right as the detective is about to reveal the killer, don’t be surprised if a shampoo commercial—or an M-PESA advert in Kenya—decides it deserves a few seconds of your attention first. That’s the trade-off, and it’s also the business model. 

It’s a model that’s gaining traction globally as more people grow tired of paying for multiple streaming subscriptions every month.

Curious little thing: South Africa isn’t on the launch list. That’s a bit like KFC opening everywhere except Kentucky. eMedia already operates eVOD in its home market, which crossed 2.2 million subscribers in February and offers more than 9,000 hours of content. Rather than running two similar products side by side, Openview Stream appears to be its vehicle for expanding into the rest of Africa, while eVOD stays focused on South Africa.

Zoom out: In South Africa, pay-TV subscribers are declining, and this is affecting platforms such as MultiChoice’s DStv. eMedia has found relative success by leaning into the free streaming market. eVOD grew its registered user base by 22% year-on-year to more than 2.2 million and increased watch time by 56% in 2025. 

Platforms such as Indian-founded SportyTV are also offering free-to-air football content, which, while still limited compared to DStv’s sports catalogue, was largely exclusive to MultiChoice. Openview Stream takes that playbook beyond South Africa, backing the idea that across much of Africa, watching a few adverts is easier to justify than paying for yet another monthly subscription.