Sports set to play a key role in expediting digital migration in Africa

Jun 28, 2016

In Africa, the Chinese multinational digital pay-TV company has successfully manifested its operations in 10 countries with seven million subscribers.

By Fred Kaweesi in Beijing
 
Since its inception in 1988, StarTimes has transcended several boundaries across the globe.

In Africa, the Chinese multinational digital pay-TV company has successfully manifested its operations in 10 countries with seven million subscribers.

As per the discussions held during the 6th African Digital Television Development Seminar that Sports set to play a key role in expeditingconcluded last Friday, the subscription could grow to 30 million in the next two years.

To achieve this, as well as promote digital migration in Africa, the company has invested billions in infrastructure, research but equally important have been the investments in various sports products.
 
Sport is crucial

Last Thursday, StarTimes officially unveiled their five-year broadcasting deal with the Chinese Super League (CSL). The 5th African Digital Television Development Seminar in Tiajin, a five-year partnership with the German Bundesliga was sealed —bringing the number of professional leagues under their wings to four. The others are the Italian Serie A and French Ligue 1.

"This is a historic moment. It's not just about sports, but a code of football that will connect countries and different continents," StarTimes Vice President Michael Dearham told New Vision.

"And that's just the beginning. We want to support as many sports projects and indigenous sports as possible. Our vision is equal access for all. Our philosophy is creating a level playing field. We want to support disciplines like wrestling and netball too," Dearham added.
Apart from the Copa America, StarTimes previously showed the Euro 2016 qualifiers, International Champions Cup (ICC), FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup and FIFA U-17 World Cup.

 One of the several participants adresses the digital seminar

Already, StarTimes sponsor Uganda's traditional giants SC Villa and KCCA to a tune of sh750m and sh1.5b over three and five years respectively. This is besides the sh250m sponsorship that is invested in Falcons basketball club annually.

Clearly, sport has been positioned as the magic code for StarTimes' digital migration process in Africa, where a majority, and not just an elite few, will find it worth adopting.

And the numbers are indeed growing -both in subscription and command among decision makers on the continent.

"In 2011 when we hosted the First African Digital TV Development Forum, we were only capable of inviting 27 delegates from 12 countries to attend the meeting; six years passed, and today we have more than 300 delegates from 39 countries coming here," StarTimes president and owner Pang Xinxing told New Vision.

StarTimes' growth over the years is reflected in Pang's own journey.

"I was born in a Chinese rural village and I had never touched a TV set until 1985. It was the first time for us to watch TV and it was really exciting for us to know the world outside."

In 2006, over 156 members of ITU in Geneva signed a binding treaty about digital broadcasting migration.
Although African countries are committed to switching off analogue transmission and moving towards migrating, there have been challenges in achieving that.

But the statistics of growth have equally been impressive.
 
Impressive growth

The latest report of Digital Television Forecast in Sub-Sahara Africa released by Digital Television Study in England shows that the digital television household penetration rate in Sub-Sahara Africa will soon exceed 50% and it is estimated that digital migration will reach almost every family by 2020.

 Delegates and ministers listen attentively at the 6th African Digital TV Development Seminar at the majestic Fengda International Hotel

By the end of 2013, there had been 11 million subscribers of Pay-TV, among which 8.5 million users had opted for satellite television.

But by 2020, the number will reach 26.65 million. At the moment, Pay-TV revenue in Sub-Sahara is $3.17 billion, and is estimated to increase by 69% to $5.35 billion by 2020.

StarTimes' impressive rise has partly been a reward of the various African Digital Television development seminars organized by the company.

In 2011, StarTimes hosted the First African Digital TV Development Forum, and the presence of important guests that discussed inspiring themes, ideas and win-win models for cooperation, made the forum a much-discussed phenomenon in Africa's television industry.
"It's our mission to promote African digital migration," Xinxing added.

The 6th African Digital TV Development Seminar equally delivered on its promise -and a number of delegates testified on the final day of the seminar.

"It was an important moment for us to share and think; I hope that there will be more and more moments like this in the future," said Chairman of the High Communication Commission of Guinea, Martine Conde stated.

Conde was part of the over 300 delegates from 39 countries, including ministers of broadcasting & TV administrations, heads of national TV stations from African countries, that attended the conference. To provide opportunities for African delegates to consult on financing issues in digital migration, the seminar also invited leaders of financial institutions like Export-Import Bank of China, China-Africa Development Fund, China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation to the meeting.

The challenge now is how to implement the suggestions that were raised during the seminar and this is where various ministers came in.
 
Uganda vows to support  the process

Uganda, represented by retired Major General Jim Muhwezi, pledged to fully support the development of African TV industry's digital migration.

"We are in the process of signing an agreement that will enable Uganda complete digitalization. China is a genuine country to deal with. They don't invest to make money and run away. They opt for win-win situations.

"We liberalized the industry in Uganda and StarTimes have been genuine operators," Muhwezi told the seminar.

Moustapha Ali Alifei, Information Minister of Chad, said that the digital migration of Chad has been laggard compared to other countries, and the country needs help from large-scale enterprise like StarTimes and funds from the Chinese government to achieve digital migration.
Nigeria's Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed indicated that it is quite necessary for Nigeria to achieve national digital migration despite the costs involved.

StarTimes' current position as an African media giant is a clear reflection of China's national strategy of a gradual shift from its origins as a technology provider.

Initially producing decoders, mobile phones, television sets and digital projectors, StarTimes has fast-become a system integrator and platform operator.

Besides delivering compelling content and offering it at an affordable price, the Chinese-based Digital Television company has mainly thrived on the back of exclusive sports rights; high production-value Chinese content dubbed into local languages; and different types of indigenous-language content in languages such as Swahili and Luganda.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});