Telkom and ShowMax have announced a partnership offering customers more value and convenience when managing their ShowMax subscription.

Now ShowMax subscribers are eligible to purchase bolt-on packages from Telkom which would effectively zero-rate the data consumed by the streaming service.  Customers also have the option to add the R99 monthly ShowMax subscription charge directly to their Telkom bill. This means the ShowMax subscription and Telkom data bolt-on charges are both conveniently located in one place.

Last year, the launch of ShowMax made it possible for consumers to stream thousands of movies and TV shows whenever they want in their own homes.

ShowMax, which can be viewed across a wide range of devices including smart TVs, media players, computers, smartphones, tablets, and the DStv Explora, has the largest SVOD catalogue in Africa. With more than 25 000 episodes of TV series and movies adding up to around 15,000 hours of viewing, ShowMax’s video collection draws from local content, as well as international favourites from almost all major studios.

To make this process more convenient, Telkom and ShowMax have partnered to manage the cost of the data consumed through streaming services.

“Subscription video on demand is changing how we watch TV. No ads, no waiting for a specific time for your show, just pick what you want and start and stop at will on your mobile device or TV,” says ShowMax South Africa GM John Kotsaftis. “Watch entire seasons of shows like the Emmy Award record-breaker Game of Thrones back to back.

“It’s great to be partnering with Telkom – we’ve now got the perfect combination of content and connectivity in one simple package,” he adds.

The partnership is an ideal fit for the two businesses, as the cost of data is something that has deterred customers from embracing Subscription video on demand (SVOD).

“SVOD is the future of content and Telkom is committed to offering our customers the latest and greatest in technology,” says Attila Vitai, CEO of Telkom Consumer. “Telkom customers can use our fast and reliable internet services like Boltspeed Fibre to watch world class content through low priced packages tailored to them.”

Telkom customers using ShowMax can purchase an entertainment bolt-on package, depending on their current Telkom service. For R99 a month, in addition to a ShowMax subscription cost, customers on Fibre or DSL receive up to 100GB of data while LTE customers receive 10GB of data, to effectively zero-rate the data required to stream ShowMax. Telkom customers can also have their ShowMax subscription fee added to their Telkom bill to consolidate their spend in one easy package.