After an announcement about a new streaming television service in April, Discover Digital launched DEOD on 4 May. DEOD (short for Digital Entertainment on Demand, and pronounced “dee-oh’d”) is a competitor to Netflix and DStv, aiming to penetrate the local and African markets with affordable streaming television.
Viewers can use the video-on-demand service with their tablets, laptops or phones, and have access to a range of bouquets of content, including news, sports and entertainment channels. In a statement, Discover Digital describes this offering as a disruptive on-demand service, allowing consumers to tailor the service to their viewing preferences.
What do you need to use DEOD?
Consumers can download the DEOD app to their Android (Android 4.1 and up) and iOS (iOS 7.0 and up) devices, as well as Windows Phone 8.1 and up. PC’s and Macs using Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer 10 do not require a plugin to play content. Discover Digital is looking to expand the service to support Airplay, Chromecast, DEOD media players and Smart TV’s soon, and subscriptions can be used on up to 5 registered devices.
Currently only a live streaming service, the company plans to offer downloadable content for offline playback, and scheduled downloads (should users want to use off-peak data) in the near future.
Packages and pricing
DEOD’s premium package, which includes all sports and news channels, and a selection of series, music videos, and movies on demand, is available at R189 per month. The DEOD Premium service is also available as a weekend or week-long package, priced at R49 and R69 respectively.
Reminiscent of the era of video rental stores, a movie rental option is available to users without a subscription, with the latest releases priced at R30 (these are available to watch three months after the cinema release date), and older movies at R18. Rentals are available for viewing for 48 hours after you have paid the rental price.
The following individual services are available:
- News (channels include Al Jazeera, Africanews, Bloomberg, Euronews, France24 and Russia Today, with BBC World News to be added soon) – R49 per month
- Sport (channels include Sportskool, the Motorvision motorsports channel, Fightbox HD, the Nautical Sailing and Boating Channel, Channel Edge HD extreme sports) – R99 per month
- On Demand (includes music videos, movies, TV shows, kids’ programmes and documentaries) – R79 per month
- News and Sport – R129
- On Demand and Sport – R159
- On Demand and News – R99
Different payment options are available for users, including credit cards, debit orders and voucher payments.
If you need a stable internet connection for this and other streaming services, check out our Vodacom Broadband Connect Wireless Lite offering.