Moses Serugo
17 June 2007
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My fear is that new satellite TV entrant, GTV, is out to have our TV sets going on strike. But then again, its recent pre-launch hype could be passed of as brilliant gimmickry. Take last week's full-page colour newspaper ad about the Television Bill of Rights. They have erected a giant billboard near the Kampala Railway Station that bears a "get kwanjulad to your TV" one-liner. Is that to say that most TV owners especially satellite TV subscribers have been "estranged" from their sets?
I must say there has not been that much "intimacy" between the 25-inch Sony I picked from a Dubai electronics shop three years ago and me. If "she" were as empowered as GTV would love TVs to be, she would have sued for gross neglect with a string of complaints that include fewer viewing hours and the fact that I have not called in the "TV doctor" to dust her interior.
GTV has mostly upset DStv's apple cart regarding the English Premier League with another Ad that screams "no foul play" adding that fair play should be matched with fair pay. The lucrative tournament has been DStv's lifeblood for a while and claims by GTV about getting the rights to 80 percent of the next season's matches prompted a stern response from DStv by way of a full page Q&A by the Multichoice Uganda General Manager Charles Hamya last week. He made a definite promise of five Premiership games a week; two every Saturday, two every Sunday and one on Monday night.
The football lover looks set to be the biggest beneficiary from all this squabbling. GTV says it will also screen six Italian Serie games each weekend. Hamya reveals that DStv will boost SuperSport channel spectrum with programming dedicated to the leading clubs in Europe like Barcelona TV, Manchester United TV, Liverpool TV, Chelsea TV and Real Madrid TV. This coupled with the promise to screen over 800 live soccer matches from various leagues and tournaments like the French Ligue 1, Copa America and Copa Libertadores. DStv has also made a commitment to screen more African soccer like the highly billed Uganda versus Nigeria encounter earlier this month.
Let us hope the "sports-phobe" will not get the short end of the stick. GTV is promising a choice of exciting programming that not only entertains the whole family but is also affordable. GTV says its ultimate goal will be to reverse the trend where high premiums are paid by few by having smaller premiums paid by more subscribers. They will be looking to increase pay-TV penetration in Africa from the current 1 percent.
GTV is banking on the belief that there is a huge market opportunity and maybe get the penetration's numbers as high as Europe's 35 percent or USA's 90 percent. The fact that they want to provide the latest high quality television programming at a price that is comparable to a utility should endear them to prospective subscribers.
GTV is tight-lipped regarding the price of its hardware but subscription to its introductory 16-channel bouquet will be £17 (about Shs56, 000)] per month. DStv's response has been a slash in hardware price and introduction of the pocket-friendly family bouquet. GTV has promised to go beyond providing rebroadcasts of European or South African content ahead of its June 29 simultaneous launch in East Africa.
Could that be the reason DStv has been shopping around for a Kenyan-based Programming Manager to help generate content? The end of dominant West African programming on Africa Magic is nigh.
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