Black Earth Communications, a Johannesburg-based company, has applied for a commercial broadcasting licence with the Botswana National Broadcasting board to launch a subscription-based digital TV service operating out of Botswana. It hopes to have the licence by next month.
The new pay service, dubbed Black Entertainment Satellite Television (BEStv), would initially offer viewers between five and 10 channels at a monthly subscription of less than R100. This might put a dent in DStv`s dominance of the pay TV satellite market in Africa.
Andrew Jones, spokesman for the venture, and senior editor and producer at Black Earth Communications, says once in place, the company plans to upgrade to a service that would offer viewers a sampling of between 100 and 300 new channels not available on DStv, with no significant rate increase.
The idea for the new venture "arose out of failure," says Jones. The company had in the past tried to gain a channel on the DStv bouquet by means of a "550-page" proposal, which included two letters from the US Trade Industry and several corporate sponsors willing to back the deal, according to Jones.
"We tried for several years to gain an independent foothold on the platform and even though we had the backing of some major players, we were turned away. The reason given was that MultiChoice wasn`t sure how to approach the black market except with soccer, some music videos and what the SABC has to offer. The closer we looked at it though, the more we realised that apart from the element of racial stereotyping, there was a much bigger picture and a bigger business opportunity."
Natural choice
Jones says out of the three key infrastructure players (Telkom, Vodacom and Sentech), not one was willing to support the idea. While researching the venture, Botswana emerged as a natural choice due to its proximity, economy and stability, he notes.
The content and price advantage is that technology has revolutionised the digital satellite industry and 'miniaturised` tasks like subscriber management and administration, through computerised technology, says Jones. In Botswana, the administration and infrastructure are already in place and acquiring programming to start the venture makes the task less complicated, he adds.
"How we will do it and what exactly we will offer remains, of course, a trade secret. However, we are 100% confident that what we want to do can be done."
BEStv would enter the market initially targeting both black and white viewers in Africa. Content will include information channels, music TV and documentaries from countries such as the Caribbean, Europe and the US, which will be repackaged for the African market.
Introducing competition
According to Jones, Black Earth Communications is not the only group looking at the pay TV market in Africa. This year the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) will issue new licences to bring competition to MultiChoice.
According to Vimla Maistry, a communications consultant at ICASA, an invitation will be extended to the public and companies wishing to apply for licences, once policies have been formalised at the end of this month.
"I know that eTV is interested and Sentech is as well. Rumour has it that Rupert Murdoch is on the periphery along with CNBC and a few others. So MultiChoice knows that it`s in for some stiff competition in the near future," says Jones.
"Current owners of decoders under the PAS-7 and PAS-10 satellite footprint will simply have to buy a new smart card and the service will be theirs," says Jones.
Higher frequencies
BEStv is already flighting promos on free-to-air channels like Novacom, which are available to South African viewers on their DStv decoders should they know the frequency, says Marius du Plessis, GM of broadcast engineering at DStv. He says viewers may also search for "alternate networks" on their decoders to access these channels.
Free-to-air channels are not, however, available on DStv`s new PVR decoders due to the hardware being used. According to Du Plessis, free-to-air channels operate on PAS-10 and other signals different to the DStv bouquet on PAS-7.
But does that mean viewers will not be able to access PAS-10 channels should they not have retained their old DStv decoders? "No," says Du Plessis, future versions of the PVR decoder, which are in the design phases, will support higher frequencies.
A second meeting since the licence application will be held between Black Earth Communications and the national broadcaster, Botswana TV, on Thursday.
Should the company be awarded the Botswana licence, the new service would be available from the second half of the year.
"MultiChoice has made it clear that they welcome competition," says Du Plessis.
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