One of the announcements that have come out of CES 2016 is that Netflix the Video On Demand (VOD) Service is now active in 130 countries worldwide with Zimbabwe included in that bunch.
Previously any attempts to access the site would indicate the unavailability of the service but now users who visit www.netflix.com will be directed to a country page for Zimbabwe and they can proceed to create an account and access the service.
Netflix is offering a free month’s service on sign up and you will need credit card details or a PayPal account to be opted in. You can cancel the service if you are not keen on using it before the month is out though the account will remain active for the rest of that period.
The cheapest package is pegged at $7.99 a month and the premium package is set at $11.99
| Plan | Price($US) | Resolution | Screens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 7.99 | SD | 1 |
| Standard | 9.99 | HD | 2 |
| Premium | 11.99 | HD/UHD | 4 |
Netflix’s arrival onto the scene creates solid competition for the various pay TV and VOD services that have been making entries into the African market. In the case of Zimbabwe, the players set to feel the challenge that Netflix brings are DStv, the yet to be launched Kwesé TV from Econet Wireless and ipidi TV from Liquid Telecom.
DStv will have its place in the satellite market, but ipidi and Kwesé TV which haven’t made a mark in Zimbabwe will have to take on the Netflix on price and more importantly content variety. The latter is where Netflix poses a huge threat, with its very popular catalogue of movies and series.
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42 comments
Tapinda machena!!!
Wow, that was out of the blue, i just signed up to test and video streams perfectly. And at that price its worth paying for than the admin of torrenting the favorite shows.
Showma is also conducting trials in zim at the moment.
Its not all bad for dstv ipidi and kwese. Netflix wont have the local african content which is in demand more.
Personally I do think its bad, which African content do most people find worth watching save for a few South African soapies? Most series and movies that the populace prefers watching are American.
The price of the internet is still way off for most unfortunately. So the giants will be fighting for a very small cake unfortunately
Yes dstv voetsek. Dont know why they didnt come up wuth a streaming option quicker.
Now if i could only stream la liga and epl
You can stream football matches on ifirstrow.eu
Sabhuku great tip, where can one stream Formula 1
About time arrogant DSTV got some competition – end game for DSTV and their pricing ripoff
Long overdue, thanks Netflix!!!
I have been watching Netflix in Zimbabwe for the past couple of years, don’t rush too quick to throw away your decoders yet, you need a really good internet connection, I’d say about 3MBps of a stable connection, Zol being the current best service provider, they’ll also come in with their “fair usage policy” (can we start a petition against that?) & ruin the party, that’s only Standard Definition by the way, try Zol’s $175 package, then add your Netflix subscription, making DSTV a value for your money.
On $45 dollers telone i can watch netflix on standard defination or even High defination stream without any lag
is that the 10gig capped download package?
Its Now 50GB bro
50gig data cap
How have you been watching Netflix in Zimbabwe for the past years when it was just launched there yesterday?
VPN.
hi bro,
streaming a movie is atleast 1.5gb…usually movies are 3gb so unlimited broadband is the best option
Watch out dstv with your high prices muchawacha ne netflix. But zvedu tapinda pachena. Now enjoying the free month of netflix zvikufaya
They also just launched in SA and people seem pretty excited.
I would suggest that those who have the bandwidth should subscribe for the one month free subscription, then unsubscribe then share experiences.
For sport, this doesnt put much of a dent on DSTV. But for the hoards of people who don’t care much about sport, DSTV will feel it.
That’s good news except that the payment system is a bit challenging for most of the Zimbos. The majority of our banks don’t have international visa or master cards and they just work like the zimswitch. why don’t they engage with mobile phone operators and use their platforms for payments like what DSTV is doing. That way vanhu vanobatsirika.The only option will to use the Ecocash Debt card
Ecocash Virtual MasterCard works, so does FBC, Steward, CBZ Visa, NMB Visa etc etc
Tsano all popular banks i know in Zimbabwe already have international visa, mastercard(CABS, CBZ, NMB, FBC, STANCHART, BARCLAYS, ECOBANK, ZB, Banc ABC, Stanbic, Steward etc). Which ones are you talking about????
Yes but these are local Debit cards where you can switch at local bank level. Are you able to buy stuff from Amazon or linking the card to Paypal? This is where the challenge is. I see banks only offering this MC/Visa service on Credit cards. Can those in the know share their knowledge on this? I tried paying for my SA Dstv account with the EW/Steward bank card and it was refused. I destroyed the card ipapo because I wanted it for that & to create a Paypal account.
Ko how do I get around the ZIP problem on the card information nhai?
Wonderful!!!! Goodbye DSTV : ) I cant wait for my subs to run out lol…..No more crappy DSTV repeats. I once wrote to DSTV about their repeats on their facebook page and got an arrogant remark to the effect that if I miss a show once I can always watch it for the next two weeks. Then, how do you charge me $90 for premium which is supposed to have all the latest movies and such only to then tell me i have to pay an additional $2.50 for box office movies? Im sorry DS but I think i want a divorce……I found a new chick called Netflix and the ceremony is being overseen by my buddy TELONE lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol
This exchange rate stories means at 90 bucks you are paying exactly double what we are paying in Namibia and SA. That’s tough
tell me guys saka isu kuchitungwiza nechibebi changu chiri mabvuku tinokwanisa kuita zve netflix here?
unotochisvitsa paden moita Netflix & Chill muri mese
hahaha ma statement enyu andiuraya boys
Anonymous yes even uri kuChitungwiza uno kwanisa kuona uchishandisa telone ADSL. Ini ndiyo yandinoto shandisa.
afta reading yo comments i hev realised how far behind u are in terms of streaming live shows and football matches, u are wasting yo money paying for thiz netflix showmax wat wat…since 2012 i hev been streaming via adsl all soccer games, can watch espn without paying a single cent to thiz netflix guys…for movies and series try primewire.org or juss google letmewatch……for soccer games try firstrow.eu and cr7.net if u are a la liga fan…links to epl games are also shared…nothing to be hyped up about..u juss ddnt know which websites to use
That’s nice,but I’m sticking to my torrents #HEVC1080p and keeping my DSTV for Formula1 and MotoGP you got that on Netflix ?
Remember google is removing and sueing torrent website owner
DSTV will olwez be ahead till ISPs reduce internet prices and the economy gets, betta..no disposable income means people resort to pirated copies on th street
how does netflix actually work coz wont it consume my data?
https://www.econet.co.zw/save/debit_card.html
it’s news to me Guyz ndakatotswa .I’m still to stand under this after I understand it then make my choice.Ican say dstv needs to lower their subs so tht its affordable coz ndivovaneyese.
The internet prices will have us glued to DSTV until the end of time. Besides, almost all the fibre providers do not connect in high and medium density suburbs. If it wasn’t for politics that South African company which wanted to bankroll the city of Harare’s water pipe upgrade would have come in handy. Can that deal be revived once again as the minister of local government is now of an age which has technology at heart?
google doesnt own the internet
I am a VOD architect and have delivered most of the broadcaster VOD service in the UK. A quality service requires a minimum of 1.5Mbps bandwidth to steam, which equates to 0.5G per episode. I doubt many in Zimbabwe have a good enough network connection and can afford to stream video. I am also not aware of a content delivery network in Zimbabwe which is essential to deliver video at scale without buffering. It has taken 10 years in the UK to get an acceptable VOD service.