Ericsson to launch SVOD service with Airtel Nigeria


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Rebecca Hawkes

| 19 November 2015




Ericsson has unveiled its NuVu subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, which will debut in early 2016 thanks to a tie up with Airtel Nigeria.



The service will deliver around 3,000 local and international TV shows and movies for a monthly charge. Subscribers will be able to download content directly to their smartphones or tablets at no additional data cost during off-peak network times, and access the content offline for up to 30 days after downloading.

NuVu will become available in the first quarter of 2016 to more than 30 million Airtel subscribers in Nigeria. It will initially only be available as an Android app for smartphones, though Ericsson plans to roll it out to other platforms and operating systems.

Ericsson is working with international distributors to ensure a variety of genres is represented on the service, including Hollywood and Nollywood movies, TV series, children’s shows, music, gospel and educational content.

Thorsten Sauer, head of Broadcast and Media Services, Ericsson, says: “The launch of NuVu is a significant landmark for Ericsson and is uniquely positioned to help our operator customers to address a significant untapped market for video content.

“Africa has some of the highest mobile adoption rates globally, with ever-increasing levels of investment and infrastructure. However, downloading is currently preferred to streaming due to connectivity issues. We believe there is a huge opportunity to open a window to a world of content through mobile devices that may not otherwise be easily accessible.

Ahmed Mokhles, chief commercial officer, Airtel Nigeria, added: “One of the key advantages of NuVu is that customers will have the flexibility to enjoy a variety of entertaining content, including music videos, comedy, movie trailers, cartoons, sports among others on their mobile devices anytime, anywhere they desire.”

According to Ericsson ConsumerLab, 61% of consumers now watch TV and video on their smartphones