As video-on-demand (VOD) continues its rapid rise, telecommunications group Ericsson on Tuesday launched a new cost-effective mobile platform aimed at meeting Africa’s VOD viewing demand.

With 95% of data traffic expected to be over smartphones by 2021 – 70% a result of video – VOD has become a “game changer” as consumers demanded more personal, mobile content.

Unveiling the new service at AfricaCom on Tuesday, Ericsson head of television (TV) and media engagement for sub-Saharan Africa Pierre Cloete said that, worldwide, 133-million hours of YouTube content was viewed every day, with this trend carrying through into Africa.

Ericsson’s ConsumerLab report showed that 61% of consumers accessed television content through smartphones and tablets – rising 71% since 2012 – with more than 50% “binge watching” content at least once a day.

However, Cloete noted that 42% refrained from consuming more content on a device if a service was not available offline.

In line with consumers increasingly seeking out new experiences within visual content offline, Ericsson launched the subscription-based mobile VOD service NuVu – built and tailored for the African market – delivering 3 000 local and international TV shows and films downloaded directly to smartphones or tablets at no additional data cost during offpeak network times.

The service aimed to mitigate the barriers generally associated with standard VOD services, including the high cost of content and data, content quality, network capacity management and network cost.

The “all-you-can-eat” service would be provided in collaboration with mobile network operators in each country for a low monthly fee, with content downloaded during offpeak times to optimise network use and keep costs down, explained NuVu MD Niclas Ekdahl.

Consumers would be able to access the content offline for up to 30 days after downloading.