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GTV Scoops Premiership Rights for Sub-Saharan Africa

GTV’s parent company Gateway Broadcast Services has acquired the rights for the key British premiership football matches for the next three seasons. If you want to watch Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal, you’ll find them on GTV. The owners of the rights last time around, South Africa’s DSTV, that previously had a monopoly on pay-TV in Anglophone Sub-Saharan African, retained the rights for South Africa. The Nigerian Rights went to Hi-TV. Russell Southwood interviewed Julian McIntyre of Gateway Communications about the announcement.

In this issue

Content

South Africa: MTV voted Coolest TV Channel in Sunday Times Generation Next Survey

Uganda: Besigye Blocked From Kitgum Radio Show

Namibia: NBC Makes Big U-Turn

Uganda: BBC to Cast Akii Bua Documentary

Uganda: DSTV Brings Copa America

Broadcast

Angola: MPs Praise Construction of Television Production, Broadcasting Centres

Congo-Kinshasa: High Hopes for Catholic Radio in Nation's South

Botswana: Radio Stations Prepare to Go Nationwide

Uganda: UBC Faces Disconnection Over Shs189 Million Debt

Zimbabwe: ZBH to Launch New Short Wave Radio Station

Chad/Sudan: Radio offers new voice on Darfur border

Nigeria: Nta Uyo Network to Gulp N150m -Iredia

Egypt: Sawiris' OTV Channel looking good one year on

Distribution

Botswana: Where is Black Earth TV?

Nigeria: HITV Opens New Page for Premiership

Investment

South Africa: Primedia Private Equity Bid 'Progressing'

South Africa: Naspers Finds Nasdaq a Drag, Heads for London

More

Regulation & policy

Technology & convergence

Events

People

Top story

GTV Scoops Premiership Rights for Sub-Saharan Africa

GTV’s parent company Gateway Broadcast Services has acquired the rights for the key British premiership football matches for the next three seasons. If you want to watch Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal, you’ll find them on GTV. The owners of the rights last time around, South Africa’s DSTV, that previously had a monopoly on pay-TV in Anglophone Sub-Saharan African, retained the rights for South Africa. The Nigerian Rights went to Hi-TV. Russell Southwood interviewed Julian McIntyre of Gateway Communications about the announcement.

Q: What do you get with this set of rights?

Gateway Broadcast Services has acquired ten live broadcast matches a week and 80% of matches for the next three seasons. It includes every premium match played so if you want to watch any of the big clubs, it will be on GTV. We have the rights for 40 Sub-Saharan African countries.

Q: Hi-TV paid $28 million for its rights. What did you pay?

I can’t give you the figure but they have been acquired on attractive terms relative to the value of the territories. African is the only virgin market for Pay-TV left in the world. What I can tell you is that the value of the rights this time around were three times what they were three years ago. This growth in value is a factor of increased competition and market potential. There has been a massive increase in interest in the Premier League in Africa.

Q: Will you be sponsoring local football teams?

We’re looking at this from the development point of view and will be putting together a Corporate Social Responsibility programme that is heavily focused around football. We’re also talking to sports development bodies that are interested in Africa. The money we put in will be about making football available to young people in Africa. We’re also looking at larger teams and the opportunities to develop professional leagues. African football is very important to us and as part of that we’d like to develop local sports coverage.

Q: What are the bouquets of programming you’re offering?

There will be Gbase that has 12 channels covering general entertainment including: news, religion, documentaries, movies, series, music and local entertainment.

There will be three sports channels: GPlusOne will offer the Premier League matches, international football and African games. GplusTwo will offer some football plus a range of contact sports including boxing, cricket, rugby, golf and athletics. The third sports channel will be Fox Sports.

Gprime will be a lifestyle channel with high quality programming throughout the day. It will start with childrens programming, going into soaps and lifestyle programmes, turning to series in the early evening and high quality movies later in the evening.

Q: What will the bouquets cost?

Somewhere between US$20-30/35 with some variants, depending on the country market. But whatever the price, it will be under half of the current Pay TV services. Plus there will be all the usual discounts and promotions.

Q: Where have you got to with rolling out the service?

We’ll be launching in four weeks time in East Africa and we’re substantially developed in a large number of other countries. After East Africa, we’ll roll-out in Southern Africa in Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. After that, we’ll launch West Africa in Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. We’ll have directly controlled operations in 9-10 countries with more indirect ones beyond that.

There’s also massive interest in British football in francophone markets. There are big players from Cote d’Ivoire in the Premier League and we have both French and English rights. We are currently looking at distribution arrangements that may get us in there at speed.

Q: You’ve also secured additional investment?

At the end of last week two significant institutional investors agreed to put US$40 million into Gateway Broadcast Services. One of them is Kinnevik, a major investor in Millicom and also Modern Times, a Pay-TV operator in Central and Eastern Europe and the other is Citigroup.

Content

South Africa: MTV voted Coolest TV Channel in Sunday Times Generation Next Survey

MTV Networks is celebrating after its iconic music channel MTV was voted South Africa’s Coolest TV Channel and its localised channel for Africa, MTV base, scored second behind MTV as the Coolest Music TV Channel in the market. MTV topped the poll in both categories in the prestigious Sunday Times Generation Next survey, results of which were unveiled on Thursday 24 May in Johannesburg.

The annual Sunday Times Generation Next is the largest youth brand-preference study conducted in South Africa, exploring the tastes and preferences of South African young people aged between 8 and 22. This is the second year running that MTV has won these two categories, beating a host of terrestrial and pay-TV channels from South Africa and the rest of the world.

It has just been two years since the network’s channel for Africa, MTV base was launched, but it has also made a substantial impact in the hearts and minds of South African youth by moving up from 8th place in the Coolest TV Channel category to a creditable 4th place this year.

“Young people define what’s cool and what’s not, so this is a great endorsement for MTV and MTV base”, commented Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MTV Networks Africa. “By constantly re-inventing and invigorating our content, MTV and MTV base have remained fresh and relevant for youth audiences. It’s great to win in the TV categories, and it’s in line with our mission of being the number one youth and young adult lifestyle brand in Africa.’

MTV Networks Africa is responsible for the African business operations of global multiplatform entertainment network MTV. Dedicated to delivering high quality, targeted music and youth entertainment content to audiences in Africa including world-famous TV brands MTV, MTV base, VH1 and Nickelodeon, MTV Networks Africa made music history when it launched MTV base, MTV’s first dedicated music channel for African youth audiences in February 2005. The channel now reaches more than 50 million potential viewers across sub-Saharan Africa by a combination of pay-tv and terrestrial distribution. The unit is responsible for delivery, distribution and marketing of 5 further music and kids channels in the African marketplace: MTV European, VH1 European, MTV France, MTV Portugal and Nickelodeon.

Uganda: Besigye Blocked From Kitgum Radio Show

A Kitgum-based private radio station, Kitti FM, was switched off for several hours on Saturday evening - 30 minutes after FDC President Kizza Besigye had started talking. Events began at 9:00 p.m. when Lucy Omona, the wife of station director Johnson Omona, arrived barefoot half an hour into the two-hour programme and switched off the generator leaving the studio in darkness.

Ms Omona said Kitgum RDC Nahaman Ojwe had allegedly called her husband threatening to close the station permanently and arrest him if Dr Besigye continued with the show. She said the RDC declared the talk-show illegal and could, therefore, not go on. "There was nothing illegal," said Lucy Acci, the station manager. "The clients [read FDC] bought airtime for two hours. For anybody to disrupt a legal process was unfortunate."

But Ojwe denied the claims that he ordered Ms Omona to switch off the radio or risk punishment. "This is not true," he said. "In any case, what do I have to do with a private radio station? I have not even called the station manager or the director. I am a journalist and I cannot interfere with the freedom of the press." Ojwe is a former journalist with Radio Uganda, now UBC-Radio. However, Kitgum Woman MP Beatrice Anywar and Rubaga North MP Beti Kamya described Ojwe's action as barbaric.

Ms Anywar said she would petition President Museveni challenging Ojwe's continued presence in the district after the district passed a resolution for his removal. "We condemn this act by the RDC," she said. "He is just confusing our people because President Museveni has continued to appoint political failures. This is unfortunate."

Both MPs are accompanying Dr Besigye, who is on his first visit to northern Uganda since the February 2006 general elections.

The Monitor (Kampala), 28 May 2007

Namibia: NBC Makes Big U-Turn

The on-again, off-again call-in programmes of the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation appear to be on again, but for how long no one seems to know. Regular radio listeners report that on Monday, May 7, NBC Director-General, Vezera Bob Kandetu, went on air to announce he was ending the suspension of the programmes. Kandetu also told listeners the corporation had a "rethink" as far as restricting the programmes to a format of set topics was concerned.

The U-turn by the NBC has been widely welcomed by fans of programmes such as the Chat Show, Open Line, Ewi Iyamanguluka and Tjirimeyo who have been starved of their favourite programmes for an entire week. The debacle surrounding the suspension of the talk-radio programmes nevertheless left many questions unanswered. The "coincidence" that the rethink was announced on the same day that Radio 99 launched its talk-radio show, only served to deepen suspicions surrounding the whole affair. The feeling in many quarters was that the NBC lost its nerve, and caved in too easily to a lot of hot air blown by critics when it decided to suspend the programmes.

Regular callers to the programme, the well-known "Oom Paul" Helmut, yesterday said he found the initial decision to suspend and tamper with the radio programmes disturbing as it impinged on the right to freedom of conscience. "I felt we were paying for the telephone calls, and for me to pay for the call and then be told what I can talk about is clearly violating my freedom of conscience," he remarked.

Helmut alleged that although the NBC claimed people were abusing the programmes to insult others, further investigation revealed that these people did not even number five - and actually only amounted to three people. He said that he himself asked NBC management some time ago to put mechanisms in place that would prevent abuse of the airwaves.

Such mechanisms, he added, were already in place on the Afrikaans, German and Rukavango radio services. "On these radio services, on programmes such as 'Spreekbeurt', if callers do not adhere to the station's policy guidelines they simply cut the caller off.

Caller after caller phoned in to complain that the call-in programme Tjirimeyo was the only platform ordinary people in the remote rural areas had for airing their grievances. A political analyst, who preferred to remain unnamed, said the commotion around the call-in programmes was typical of the confusion reigning among the country's elite.

He said he thought the NBC would have taken time to deliberate on the issue and consulted various stakeholders and media experts before making such far-reaching decisions.

New Era (Windhoek), 15 May 2007

Uganda: BBC to Cast Akii Bua Documentary

The BBC is making a documentary about Uganda's only Olympic gold medallist John Akii Bua, which will be aired just before the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The documentary titled "Looking for John" comes after Akii Bua's former coach Malcom Arnold released the diaries the hurdler handed to him in 1981, according to Crispin Buxton, one of the producers. Akii Bua, who won the 400mH medal at the Munich 1972 Games with a world record 47.86 seconds, passed away in 1997.

Dan Gordon is the cameraman while David Moore is the associate producer of the 90-minute documentary. It will be produced by London-based 'Very Much So' and 'Passion Pictures' productions. Shooting will start June 9 with the 9th edition of the Akii Bua memorial meet due in Kampala.

New Vision (Kampala), 16 May 2007

Uganda: DSTV Brings Copa America

Pay television guru, MultiChoice has added spice to its sports programmes. The Copa America (Copa Sud America) is the latest in its array of newly unveiled sports programmes on DStv. "In addition to the action from the best football leagues in the world, Dstv is proud to announce that in 2007 we shall be showing the Copa America," revealed MultiChoice's Charles Hamya. Adding; "It will start in July and all the matches will be live. It is South America's version of the Africa Nations Cup," he explained.

The Monitor (Kampala), 22 May 2007

Broadcast

Angola: MPs Praise Construction of Television Production, Broadcasting Centres

MP's with the 6th Commission on Education and Media Thursday in Luanda, praised the quality of the works of construction of the new production and transmission centres of Angola's state-run and only Television Station (TPA). To MP Osvaldo de Jesus, what pleases them most is that the project will contribute to improve the citizens' living standards. He said he hopes everything will go in accordance with the programme designed and the works complete as established, that is by the end of this year.

Osvaldo de Jesus agreed with TPA and contractor's decision to have the works concluded simultaneously, in order to avoid constraints that might follow the completion of the first stage.

The project of construction of TPA Production and Transmission Centre is going under a fund from China Government and is being developed on separate sites.

The Production Centre, situated in Luanda's Camama area, district of Kilamba-Kiaxi, will comprise three blocks housing two studio each, an offices building with restaurant, while the Transmission Centre, being built in the same zone, is currently in completion stage.

Angola Press Agency (Luanda), 24 May 2007

Congo-Kinshasa: High Hopes for Catholic Radio in Nation's South

A new Catholic radio station in the southern region hopes to promote evangelization and social awareness. "We named the radio Kaoze, in memory of the first Congolese priest of our diocese. The radio is a channel of evangelisation," Rev David Luhaka, vice-president of Radio Kaoze managing committee told a local news agency.

Radio Kaoze is the latest in the series of Catholic radios in Democratic Congo. It was established by the Diocese of Kalemie-Kirungu in the southern region and is named after Stefano Kaoze (1885-1951), ordained in 1917.

For the 50,000 people in Kalemie the launch of the radio is an important event, FIDES reports. Catholics see it as a channel of evangelisation and a means of deepening their knowledge of the faith. Non-Catholics hope Radio Kaoze will at last give a voice to the city. The people of Kalemie hope the radio will organise debates on local problems and speak out for the people.

Religious programmes will focus on meditation of the Word of God, philosophy, theology and there will also be programmes on development, local events, culture, healthcare and human rights. The managers intend to form a Kaoze Club with programmes based on the figure of Fr Kaoze. The president of the radio committee is Mgr. Isidore Katele, diocesan Vicar-General.

Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi), 22 May 2007

Botswana: Radio Stations Prepare to Go Nationwide

Botswana first private radio stations, Gabz FM and Yarona FM, are procuring equipment and placing correspondents in preparation to go nationwide. Yarona FM is looking over the horizon at Christmas 2007, while Gabz FM is planning for Independence in September. Gabz FM is targeting major villages like Palapye, Serowe and Maun. Station Manager Kennedy Otsheleng says he plans to keep the audience young adult.

"We are not changing our format. Our audience will remain contemporary adult, aged between 25 and 49 years," he says. Gabz FM intends to have a 40 percent local news content, to be broadcast in both Setswana and English. But a completely nationwide coverage is not being planned until 15 years from now.

Yarona FM's Dumi Lopang says he plans to take advantage of the high advertising season of September to December to launch their national transmitter. He disclosed that as the three private radio stations had agreed to look for a technical partner to assist them to go national "as soon as possible". Meanwhile, newcomer to the airwaves, Duma FM, is also aiming at Independence, according to MP for Mogoditshane, Patrick Masimolole, who is a member of the station's board.

The three radio stations were granted national broadcasting licences early this month.

Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), 15 May 2007

Uganda: UBC Faces Disconnection Over Shs189 Million Debt

The State-owned Uganda Broadcasting Corporation television and radio may be disconnected from the satellite over alleged failure to pay about Shs189 million to Big Dish, its satellite link provider. Daily Monitor has learnt that Big Dish officials have given UBC only today to come to "an amicable commercial agreement" with the satellite provider or be disconnected.

UBC uses the satellite link to beam its audio and visual programmes to its booster stations across the country and beyond. UBC is using Big Dish's satellite capacity lease number 7336 IS 906. The consequence of the disconnection would imply that UBC's reception countrywide would be blurred because the transmission boosters cover shorter distances without the help of the satellite link.

However, in the event of the disconnection, other television stations operating in Uganda would not be affected because they use other providers for satellite linkage. On Tuesday, Big Dish officials were locked up in a crisis meeting with officials from the Uganda Communications Commission and UBC to solve the impasse.

The Monitor (Kampala), 17 May 2007

Zimbabwe: ZBH to Launch New Short Wave Radio Station

Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings is next Friday -- on Africa Unity Day -- expected to launch a new short wave radio station, The Voice of Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwean news and news analysis station that will broadcast internationally.

"The station will be Zimbabwe's first world station. It will broadcast initially for just two hours a day and gradually increase its broadcast time until it becomes a 24 hours a day news and talk station," ZBH said in a statement.

It said the station would broadcast from well-equipped studios in Gweru, adding world television broadcasts would be added to the station during the course of the year. The new station is headed by Happison Muchechetere, who is the station's general manager, and has more than 20 years experience in broadcasting.

He joined the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter in 1984 and has held a number of senior positions with ZBH, having at different times been head of Television Productions, Head of Current Affairs Productions and Assignments Editor. He trained in radio and television production in Tunisia, Holland and at Stanford University in the United States. He was head of Electronic Services at New Ziana for the past five years.

The Herald (Harare), 19 May 2007

Chad/Sudan: Radio offers new voice on Darfur border

Men driving donkey carts to the market and refugees crouching in the shade finally have something to break the boredom of life in this arid Darfur border village - news, hip-hop and Arabic music coming in on cranky transistor radios. It's Radio Sila, the village's only radio station, funded mostly by U.S. taxpayers and pumping some fun into a violence-region suffering the spillover from the Darfur conflict next door.

Broadcast from a metal cargo container converted into a studio, the station is run by Internews, a California-based aid group spreading news and music to crisis zones. "First and foremost, we're a community radio," said Jocelyn Grange, a French journalist who manages the program in eastern Chad. "We try to be directly useful to our listeners." About 230,000 Darfurians are refugees in Chad, along with some 140,000 Chadians who also were uprooted by the violence.

Radio Sila is modeled after two others opened by Internews in 2005 and mid-2006 in eastern Chad, which offer a mix of local news and music seven days a week from morning to dusk. The stations also alert listeners to dangers, such as a recent janjaweed raid on a Chadian village that left 400 people dead. On a recent day, the news on radio Sila covered a U.N. VIP's visit, an upsurge in attacks on a nearby refugee camp, and a calendar of junior league soccer matches.

The Voice of Ouaddai in the region's main town of Abeche broadcasts in French and Arabic - Chad's two official languages. To the north, Radio Absoun is also broadcast in Zaghawa, the African language spoken in many villages and by the tens of thousands of Darfur refugees.

Radio Sila, in the south, largely caters to the Massalit tribe, whose language is rarely spoken in Chad, which is why it took longer to go on the air - it had to find a Massalit speaker with broadcasting skills.

Internews' three stations operate on a $1 million budget for this year, with most of the funding provided by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Along with news and music, the stations feature six weekly shows addressing topics such as health and safety in the camps. The star program, "She Speaks, She Listens," addresses women's issues. "We consider there's no taboo, as long as you're careful about how to address things," Grange said. "The only topic we carefully avoid is politics." Music outplays news, and men glued to their radio in the Koubigou refugee camp said they preferred it that way.

Associated Press, May 28th

Nigeria: Nta Uyo Network to Gulp N150m -Iredia

Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Dr. Tonnie Iredia has said that NTA Channel 12 Uyo, Akwa Ibom State would require about N150million to transform itself into a network centre in the country. Iredia, gave the estimate on Tuesday during the official commissioning of the ultra-modern studio complex of the Uyo station.

Dr. Iredia, who shared the feelings of some Nigerians on the impact of negative reports by foreign media on the country noted that to solve the problem, we must take our destiny in our hands by establishing strong media networks that can address such issues.

"We should set up an international networks that can stand out, willing and ready to address media issues", advised Dr. Iredia adding, if we must become an international network, then we must upgrade our mm facilities and equipment in such a way that we can compete favourably with other international networks.

While assuring the station management support in equipping the studio, urged the staff to double up their performance as well as revenue generation to sustain the station.

The state governor, Obong Victor Attah commended the director and staff for raising the standard of broadcasting in the country explaining that, NTA Channel 12 Uyo was on the verge of becoming a world class network which would earn its viewers the confidence of patronizing the station.

Daily Champion (Lagos), 28 May 2007

Egypt: Sawiris' OTV Channel looking good one year on

The launch of OTV earlier on this year, a new free to air satellite television channel owned by one of Egypt's most successful businessmen, demonstrated the increasing liberalisation and profitability of televised media in Egypt.

In recent years, there has been a surge in the Middle Eastern satellite television market as more countries allow private ownership of television stations. As a result, the number of Arabic channels has grown and the price of the service has fallen. According to a recent report by the Arab American Institute, there was only one Arabic Satellite channel in 1990. Yet, as of October 2006, 263 free channels were broadcasting on Arabsat and Nilesat.

However, in comparison with Lebanon, a country with a population of under 4 million with over 30 channels, the Egyptian television market remains relatively underdeveloped. As of the end of 2006, there were only three privately owned channels on Egyptian satellite - Dream 1, Dream 2 and Mehwar.

It is this gap in the market that Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris is seeking to fill with OTV. Launched on the final day of January this year and broadcast on Nilesat, the channel has a capital of over $17m.

Since OTV targets Egyptian youth, American programmes have dominated its schedule in the first three months. In a recent assessment of the channel, Sarwiris told OBG, "We are pleased with the public's response to our channel, it is young, aggressive, elegant and innovative".

As one of the most outspoken figures in Egyptian society, it is clear that Sawiris is keen to make a strong impression and OTV has already caused a stir with its satirical programmes and its airing of uncut American films. Sawiris said he was particularly proud of "You Must Be in Egypt", a programme which lampoons the bad habits of Egyptians such as litter dropping, poor driving and noisiness.

"OTV aims to take a critical look at our society. I want Egyptians to see how our lives are, how life could be better and how we can improve our country," he said. He openly acknowledged that the channel has a vague political agenda, to counter what he considers as the negative impact of "religious extremism" and to "build bridges between Egypt and the West, including America."

This is one of the reasons behind the high proportion of US content of OTV, although Sawiris confirmed that more Egyptian programmes would soon hit the airwaves. Although OTV does not broadcast to the more affluent Gulf markets, Sawiris is confident that the channel can bring in significant advertising revenue. The focus on the 15 plus age group, especially those from wealthy backgrounds, offers strong potential.

Sawiris explained, "Our channel will attract advertising agencies who sell youth orientated products such as sport items, soft drinks, consumer goods, mobile phones and ipods." The channel will not limit itself to adolescents, however. "We also have new movies and series every night which appeal to an adult audience and there is a morning show for housewives. Such shows offer an excellent opportunity for high end advertisers such as real estate companies to show their products to a class A audience."

Wael Nazeem, group account director at Saatchi & Saatchi in Egypt, agreed that satellite television has become an important media for advertising. He told OBG, "Because of availability of satellite TV in the region, even the lowest income groups are able to watch satellite and able to move completely away from local television".

Nilesat was launched in 1998 and it is now estimated that over 75% of the population have access to satellite television. The expansion of free-to-air services is set to continue. OTV became the first channel to broadcast news in colloquial Arabic and Sawiris told OBG that an OTV news channel and music channel were likely to follow.

Oxford Business Group, 18 May 2007

Distribution

Botswana: Where is Black Earth TV?

It was supposed to be up and running by now, airing its television signals from Botswana to the rest of the continent. Just where is the pay television, which was expected to end Multichoice's monopoly in Africa?

The project was envisaged to start operations early this year at the latest but the much-hyped pay television, which was to be based in Botswana, is yet to take root since the bidders, Black Earth Communications (BEC), of South Africa was awarded the provisional licence in April last year.

And the licence holders have not come back to brief the anxious public. National Broadcasting Board (NBB) secretary Dan Mogwera said in an interview that BEC had not come back to update them on their next move. "We can cannot say whether they are still in business or not. They are best positioned to answer that question," he said when asked whether the NNB had heard anything from BEC.

The project started with much fanfare but the excitement has since waned. Andrew Jones, the man who was frequently in the news, hyping the pay TV service on Friday told Monitor that his plans have been frustrated by lack of interest among potential investors in Botswana. He said it was supposed to be entirely dependent on the investors buying into it. Jones accepts that it has taken long for his company to set up since they made noise about the project they hailed as "the next big thing".

He was hoping to raise at least US$20-25 million, or nearly P150 million, for the television project. "That is the start-up capital we need to get it rolling," he said from Johannesburg, where the company is currently involved in film productions. Jones said his efforts to court Botswana potential investors did not bear fruit. He said he made presentations to financial institutions, and individuals but with little success. He said if "we can find that money now, the project would start within 60 to 90 days".

After claiming in a Mmegi interview last year that they wanted to open the pay television in Botswana because they were denied the licence in South Africa, it has emerged that the same company had applied for a licence in South Africa. Jones admitted that they had applied for a South African licence but were still awaiting a reply. "We are not the only ones, there are quite a number of applicants, and we are one of them," he said.

Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), 21 May 2007

Nigeria: HITV Opens New Page for Premiership

New indigenous pay television station, HITV, would be launching additional sports channels to herald the forthcoming 2007/08 English Premier League, EPL, season starting in August. The new sports channels are Hi Soccer and Hi Sports 2. This brings the sports outlets on the bouquet to three and the total channel collection to 21.

Managing Director of HiTV, Toyin Subair, says this is the beginning of the addition of more premium channels to come on the affordable pay TV which has capacity for over two hundred channels as promised at the commercial launch in February. According to Subair, Hi Soccer is passionately dedicated to the transmission of live football matches from the English Premiership, the La Liga and the Italian Serie A, the best European football leagues.

Hi Sports 1 would offer a wide variety of games ranging from international and local athletics, the American NBA basketball, World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE, Wimbledon Tennis Grandslam and many more including extreme sports, while Hi Sports 2 will be a spill over channel for soccer and other sports events.

Subair says this is the beginning of the addition of more premium channels to come as promised by the company. He added that the affordable pay TV would, in fulfilment of its promise to viewers, roll out more channels.

HiTV owned by Entertainment Highway Limited, EHL, jolted the Nigerian broadcast market when last year it won the right to the English premier league for Nigeria and the Spanish Liga for the whole of Africa. And contrary to speculations the MD has explained that the acquisition of club stations like Manchester, Chelsea, Liverpool or Barca TVs by some other pay TV providers does not entitle them to live matches of the leagues for which HITV own the rights.

This Day (Lagos), 23 May 2007

Investment

South Africa: Primedia Private Equity Bid 'Progressing'

Media company Primedia said last week the market could expect an announcement regarding a proposed R6bn private equity offer within the following two to three weeks. According to CEO William Kirsh, who together with the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) is leading the consortium, "things are progressing well and at this stage all we can really say is that further announcements are imminent".

Kirsh said that the financiers had completed a due diligence process to enable the consortium to confirm funding for the deal. The next stage would be to make a final offer for the board's consideration, before shareholders have their final say.

"An independent body has been set up within the board to evaluate the deal," said Kirsh. This is because the potential buyers, namely the Kirsh family and MIC, held current positions on the board.

Kirsh said that, if all went well, the deal should be completed by July this year.. He said there was no threat of a competing offer at this point. The price per share was pegged, in the initial proposed offer, at R25,50 for the ordinary shares, which hold higher voting power than the N-shares, which were offered at R24,50.

The price was well received by the market, according to analysts, most notably Coronation, which owns about 20% of the company, in N-shares. Rajay Ambekar, portfolio manager at Cadiz African Harvest said, while the price offer at the time had been valued near a 20% premium to the market, due to the strong trading on the JSE it now only traded at an 8% premium.

Business Day (Johannesburg), 23 May 2007

South Africa: Naspers Finds Nasdaq a Drag, Heads for London

South African media group Naspers said last week it would delist from US-based Nasdaq because of the cost of regulatory requirements. The company said it intended listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), which had a larger appetite for companies in emerging markets.

The company's decision to delist from Nasdaq would have little bearing on local shareholders, said analysts. They said the decision was based on the high costs of maintaining listing and registration in the US. Complying with US obligations, especially the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, had led the company to take advantage of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) having recently relaxed its rules relating to delisting by foreign companies, said Naspers' chief financial officer Steve Pacak.

Sarbanes-Oxley was instituted by the SEC in 2002 to tighten up the transparency profile of listed companies following scandals such as the Enron debacle. The result is expensive auditing practices that have to be implemented.

Abdul Davids, portfolio manager at Allan Gray, said the delisting would not affect the company's primary listing on the JSE. He said the Naspers shares listed on the Nasdaq made up about 1% of the total issued share capital. While any form of cost cutting was beneficial, the estimated annual saving of R30m would not benefit shareholders to any great extent.

"It was never a conscious decision for them to list on Nasdaq in the first place," said Davids, citing Naspers' purchase of multinational pay-television media company MIH in 2002 as the reason behind the listing. Pacak said a London listing would give shareholders in other countries the opportunity to buy into Naspers' growing interests in emerging markets, including Brazil, Russia and the east. Pacak said the LSE was also far more receptive to emerging market trends.

Business Day (Johannesburg), 18 May 2007

More

Regulation & policy

Congo-Kinshasa: Private Broadcaster Suspended for Seven Days

Journaliste en Danger (JED) expresses its profound indignation over the 20 May 2007 decision by the local section of the media regulatory agency (Haute Autorité des Médias, HAM) in Mbuji-Mayi to suspend for seven days all broadcasts by the privately-owned network, Radiotélévision Débout Kasaï (RTDK).

JED believes this measure is not only disproportionate, but also clearly dictated by provincial authorities who are using the media regulatory body to settle a personal dispute. The HAM has officially accused RTDK of broadcasting two "defamatory" programmes on 15 and 16 May and of uttering threats against Ngoyi Kasanji, governor of East Kasai province.

When asked by JED about the nature of these threats, Faustin Mutombo Hanshi Hatupu, HAM's provincial representative, admitted to not having heard the alleged threats himself, but justified the suspension on the basis of RTDK's refusal to deliver audio and video tapes of the incriminating programmes to him.

JED demands that the armed men currently occupying RTDK's headquarters be immediately withdrawn and calls on Parliament to accelerate the process of establishing the new media regulatory agency (Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel et de la communication, CSAC).

Journaliste En Danger (Kinshasa), 23 May 2007

Uganda: Man Held for Insulting President

A man suspected to have insulted President Yoweri Museveni during a talkshow on NBS radio in Jinja has been arrested. Richard Ssenyonga alias Madiru was on May 21 picked by the Criminal Investigations Department boss Willy Panuha from the Bus Park in Jinja where he works. Eastern Region Police Commander Christopher Kubai told journalists on Tuesday Ssenyonga admitted having called the radio but said he was disconnected before he could convey his message to the President.

Kubai said immediately the talkshow hosts realised Ssenyonga's intention to embarrass the President, they cut him off and alerted police who started hunting him. Museveni, while on air during his recent campaign trail in Kamuli, asked residents to support the LC5 Chairman Steven Mubiru (NRM). In what went down as the first negative attack on the President since he started appearing on the radio, several callers referred to him as a liar for failure to fulfill his promises to the people of Busoga.

The Monitor (Kampala), 28 May 2007

South Africa: Clear Danger in Vague Phrases

Controversial proposed amendments to the Film and Publications Act have resulted in an outcry from media organisations and civil society institutions. While much of the debate has focused on the proposed removal from the act of sections exempting broadcasters and the press, the amendment bill in other ways significantly intensifies restrictions on the free flow of information.

The bill substantially increases the scope of publications required to be submitted for classification. The existing act requires that people intending to publish, distribute or exhibit publications with sexually graphic and violent scenes, descriptions and depictions must submit such publications to the Film and Publication Board. In terms of the act, all films must be submitted to the board for classification.

The bill requires that any film or publication containing any visual presentations, depictions or representations amounting to sexual conduct, propaganda for war, incitement to imminent violence or the advocacy of hatred based on any identifiable group characteristic must be submitted for classification by the classification office (a new body envisaged by the bill) before it may be distributed or exhibited.

The bill draws no distinction between graphic and subtle depictions or descriptions of sexual conduct. Accordingly, on the face of it, even the mildest erotica or a pamphlet on sexual health would be required to be submitted for classification. If enforced rigorously, this could stifle debate on public health issues such as HIV/AIDS.

In addition, what constitutes propaganda for war or incitement to imminent violence is inherently subjective and could be manipulated for political ends. The extension of the number and range of films and publications that will be required to be submitted for classification could lead to self-censorship and have an effect on the sociopolitical debates central to any functional democracy.

The bill also significantly alters the classification categories and classification criteria applicable to films and publications.

Under the act, films and publications can be classified as XX, X18 or have an age restriction applied to them. The exhibition and distribution of XX publications is illegal, while the distribution and exhibition of X18 publications is regulated. In general, X18 publications may only be distributed from or exhibited in licensed adult retail outlets. But the bill will establish a further classification category -- "refused classifications". Like XX films and publications, the distribution and exhibition of refused classifications will be banned altogether. The bill will thus result in a larger number of films and publications being banned outright.

The classification criteria set out in the bill are far more broadly framed than those in the act, which are more concrete and specific. For example, under the act, visual depictions or descriptions of explicit violent sexual conduct or bestiality, rape or incest will result in a film or publication being classified XX. However, in terms of the bill, films and publications containing descriptions or depictions of "explicit sexual conduct which violates or shows disrespect for the right to human dignity of any person", "conduct or an act which is degrading of human beings" and "conduct or an act which constitutes incitement to or encourages or promotes harmful sexual behaviour" will result in an XX rating. The broadness of these classification criteria , together with the fact that they are based on subjective and moralistic notions of what constitutes "harmful sexual behaviour" and "conduct which is degrading of human beings", will arguably result in a great many sexually explicit films and publications, which would previously have been classified as X18, being classified as XX.

The breadth and inherently subjective nature of the bill's classification concepts are also likely to result in the further stigmatisation of minority sexualities and minority sexual practices.

The proposed amendments to the act are being carried out purportedly to protect children from sexual exploitation. However, even if the exemption of broadcasters and the press from the provisions of the act is ultimately retained in the amended version, the proposed amendments are likely to erode freedom of expression by causing an unreasonably high number of films and publications to be banned from distribution altogether.

Business Day (Johannesburg), 28 May 2007

Technology & convergence

South Africa: SA to Launch Satellite for High-Def TV for 2010

Sentech intends to launch at least one High Definition Television (HDTV) satellite channel in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, Minister of Communications Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced Thursday. Speaking during the debate on her department's budget vote, Dr Matsepe-Casaburri said Sentech would also build a second teleport to provide additional capacity needed for the 2010 satellite uplink requirement.

Sentech, she said, was on schedule to meet Government's commitment by providing about 80 percent Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) coverage by the start of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. In line with the technology plan for 2010, the SABC plans to have six more High Definition Units in place by end of 2009. "The implementation of this strategy will meet a number of AsgiSA objectives, as well as delivery of service to underserviced Second economy areas.

"We have established a body to oversee the roll-out of digital migration in South Africa-and we have called it the Digital Dzonga (South)," the minister told MPs. Cabinet approved the move for the Digital Migration process to be switched on by 1 November 2008. The analogue signal should be switched off on the same date in 2011. The Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy will be gazetted next Friday, 1 June.

The minister said there would be Set Top Boxes in order to give all people access to digital signals using their analogue TVs. South Africa will begin growing Set Top Box manufacturing capability, and create jobs also in the installation, maintenance and repair of these. It would also allow for the expansion of job creation through call centers.

Dr Matsepe-Casaburri said new TV channels that would be available as a result of Broadcasting Digital Migration will require the development of local content "that is relevant to and appropriate to our needs and national identity and social cohesion. "Therefore the development of creative industries is most likely to be seen burgeoning. New industries such as animation will flourish. Already our own Magic Cellar children's programme has found resonance in the USA. where HBO has already indicated interest."

During 2007, as part of its new vision and deliverables, the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) will use its state of the art production facilities to establish a digital content hub with a view to producing animated and e-learning products and services.

BuaNews (Tshwane), 25 May 2007

Nigeria: MTN Makes First 3G Call

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited has made a successful "voice and video" test call on its 3G UMTS technology platform. Chief Technical Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola explained that the company has begun call testing of its 3G network between Lagos , Abuja and Port Harcourt .

According to him, "we are working assiduously to complete the ring of Lagos , Abuja and Port Harcourt in the next few months so that customers on our network would begin to enjoy the multi-purpose benefits associated with 3G calls."

He went on further to state that MTN's speedy roll out of the 3G has been facilitated by the existence of its 3,500 kilometre Fibre Optic network, which is the longest private superhighway way in Africa. The facility will boost seamless 3G calls on the network. It will be recalled that MTN launched the state of the art facility in a glittering ceremony last year which attracted senior Government officials, Regulators and the crème of society.

He explained that not all handsets are 3G enabled. However, for those with 3G facilities, customers will be able to use both GSM and 3G networks once they request and activate 3G subscription.

He added that the "key value of 3G telephony is the ability to transport high speed data over the wireless network with full mobility. The high speed mobility enables internet browsing, TV, video calls and all forms of content and value added services, to be at the fingertips of customers".

Toriola explained further that work is already at an advanced stage to ensure that all customers on the MTN Network are able to begin to enjoy the advantage of making crystal clear voice and video calls on their 3G enabled GSM phones.

It will be noted that MTN Nigeria was the first GSM Company to pay $150Million for the recently awarded 3G licenses, awarded by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) earlier this year. Since then, it has been working tirelessly to deploy 3G UMTS enabled technology in order to meet customers' expectations.

Daily Trust (Abuja), 14 May 2007

Uganda: Ugandan Radio Online

Ugandan recording artists have reason to smile. A new UK-based online radio station called Pearl radio.net is out to promote Ugandan musicians in the Diaspora by playing their music exclusively. That means that we are going to see more Ugandan singers going off to perform in the Diaspora as their music will be widely listened to. Pearl radio premiered its services with a gospel show that featured last weekend. Ivan Kibuuka, a UK-based Ugandan is behind it.

New Vision (Kampala), 17 May 2007

Nigeria: Nigcomsat - Gateway to Digitalising Africa?

With the successful launch of Nigeria 's Communications Satellite, NIGCOMSAT in far away China, Efem Nkanga, appraises the benefits and implications of the historical launch for Nigeria in particular and the African continent as a whole. Nigeria made history last week when it launched a satellite project that will revolutionise telecommunications, broadcasting and broadband multimedia services in Nigeria and Africa.

The project called Nigeria Satellite communications, NIGCOMSAT is an icing on the cake to the tremendous gains made in the telecoms sector and a testimony to the benefits of the liberalisation of the telecoms sector spearheaded by President Olusegun Obasanjo six years ago.

That a feat has been achieved can only be appreciated against the backdrop of where Nigeria as a nation is coming from. From a connected network position of less than four hundred lines six years ago, the nation's connected lines has jumped to an amazing 38 million lines, making it the fastest growing market in Africa and the third fastest in the world.

Now with the launch of NIGCOMSAT, carrier rocket, Long March 3-B, which blasted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province and entered the orbit accurately on May 14, the stage is set for Nigeria to consolidate on its growing profile as the technological hub of Africa and an emerging player in the global terrain.

That NIGCOMSAT is the first communications satellite for Nigeria and the first of its kind in Africa is not in doubt. NIGCOMSAT, is a super hybrid geo-stationary satellite designed to operate in Africa, parts of the Middle East and southern Europe.

One unique benefit of the programme that a lot of Nigerians are interested in is that the satellite program will enable Internet access to even the remotest rural villages, a major quest of stakeholders in recent times. It would also enhance government's economic reforms, particularly in the areas of e-learning, e-commerce, tele-medicine, tele-education, and rural telephony.

The project, according to experts, will also help African users save more than $900 million spent for telephony trunking and data transport services, 660 million U.S. dollars in phone call charges and broadband access which is more than 95 million U.S. dollars spent each year, as well as create more than 150, 000 jobs for Nigerians.

Apart from these unassailable benefits, the programme is also expected to play key roles in e-commerce by improving government efficiency and promoting the development of the digital economy in Nigeria and Africa. Other benefits of the launch of the nation's own satellite, according to experts, is that it will bring down the cost of GSM and Internet services in the country as a result of the availability of cheaper satellite bandwidth that the launching will enable. This will help Nigeria break free from its over-reliance on oil trade and transform itself into a knowledge-based economy.

NIGCOMSAT is also expected to provide for virtual education, telemedicine as well as video conferencing. The commercial benefits of the Satellite project to Nigeria is one that experts are excited about. The Managing Director of Nigeria Communications Satellite NIGCOMSAT, Ahmed Rufai, had before the launch last week had disclosed that Nigeria will earn about $1.05billion which is N128billion yearly from NIGCOMSAT. He stated that a major part of the earnings will come in from the sale and leasing of transponders from NIGCOMSAT. According to Rufai, each transponders will be sold for between $60-70 million. NIGCOMSAT currently has forty transponders, with 28 active and 12 inactive. NIGCOMSAT will amongst other things according to Rufai enable job outsourcing through the provision of a robust high bandwidth for two-way broadband links between Nigeria , Africa and others parts of the world. It will lead to the bridging of the existing digital divide by providing platform for small/medium scale ICT service providers to partake in the global ICT business that is estimated to be more than $1.2 Trillion. The creation of a digital economy enabled by the satellite launch will put affordable access to the information technology at the reach of Nigerians. This will help ensure that every Nigerian man, woman or child at work, at play, in school, in the market, farmers, artisans, marketers and small businessmen all have access to the internet. This is a welcome development given the fact that although about 38 million Nigerians are connected, connection to the internet still stands at about two million or less in a population base of over 140 million people.

Nigeria will also launch two additional satellite by 2010. One facing America and the other facing Asia .

NIGCOMSAT will no doubt assist the country in realizing its targeted Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Space Technology according to experts guarantees the availability and speedy access to real-team data and geo-partial information, as well as the availability of relevant infrastructure and backbone for information communication.

The contract for the NIGCOMSAT project which was signed on December 15, 2004 in Abuja between China Great Wall Industry Corporation and the National Space Research and Development Agency was said to have cost the Federal Government over N40 billion. China was awarded the deal after it outbid 21 international rivals to secure the multi million U.S. dollar deal.

The cost of the satellite include items such as construction, insurance, value added tax as well as the price for building one ground control station in Abuja and a backup control station in Kashi, China . The satellite has four gateways to be located in South Africa , China, Italy and Northern Nigeria. The satellite will change positions in orbit until it is finally fixed at a longitude of 42 degrees east. It is expected to be put into use by Nigeria before the end of the year and has a lifespan of 15 years. It will be monitored and tracked by a ground station to be built in Abuja , the capital of Nigeria, by the Chinese firm, Great Wall Industry Corporation, and a ground station in Kashgar, in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

This Day (Lagos), 16 May 2007

South Africa: Students in Mobile TV-to-Cellphone Trial

Students on five university campuses are enjoying a new service that delivers free downloads of made-for-mobile television shows, music and movie trailers to their cellphones. Every 20 minutes, students in the wireless hotspots are receiving text messages asking if they want to download another slice of entertainment. The company behind the scheme is Motherland Isiko TV (MiTV), which has signed deals to send out movie trailers from Ster Kinekor and ringtones, screen savers and games from Exact Mobile. MiTV also runs its own studio to produce the made-for-mobile programmes.

The downloads are being delivered over a Bluetooth wireless network installed by Wireless Customer Interactive Services (WCIT). Bluetooth zones have been set up at Wits, the Free State University in Bloemfontein, Potchestroom's University of the North West, and at two campuses of Nelson Mandela University of Technology in Port Elizabeth. That gives it a potential audience of up to 90000 students.

"We have installed our own network to run our own mobile TV channel, which is quite a feat," said MiTV CEO Kevin McKerr. Bluetooth was a great technology for MiTV because the students could choose whether to accept or reject the content, said McKerr. When the service detects a Bluetooth-enabled handset in the catchment zone it sends a message asking if the user wants to download content on offer.

If they accept, the music, movie trailer or television programme is downloaded to their phone. To prevent consumer fatigue, they are only offered different content at 20 minute intervals during their stay in the wireless hotspot, which is typically the university canteen.

MiTV is based in Randburg, Johannesburg, and uses MTN's cellular network to deliver content to each campus for distributing over the Bluetooth network. MiTV is struggling to profit from the venture because the content is free. If the downloads become blatant advertising, the students will stop accepting them and the sponsors will withdraw their support. "The revenue model is based on advertising but it's a tricky balance," McKerr said. "It has to be content that is valuable. If we send out three adverts in a row people won't want any more, so we need to apply common sense."

So far MiTV has delivered downloads to about 1000 people, and hopes to deliver 2000 downloads on each campus every month as more students hear about the service. It also hopes to cover every university, but it has received a mixed response when it has asked the principals for permission to set up a network. "Some are concerned that campuses are becoming overcommercial. Other see it as a great service that the university can offer and they want to use the network themselves to communicate with the students," he said.

Business Day (Johannesburg), 17 May 2007

IN BRIEF:

* LTMX AND PLAYBOX -NIGERIA

The growing convergence between television and Information Technology (IT) is set to become more viable with the introduction of the Playbox technology into the Nigerian television space. The enablement of this convergence was strengthened with the technical partnership between Long Transmission Nigeria Limited (LTMX) and Playbox Technology. The partnership will enable the deployment of a modern and state-of-the-art television broadcast system that will enable television stations in Nigeria to meet international standard.

Events

§ Angolan Economic Journalists Association Meeting (June 26th-28th)

§ CNN Multichoice African Journalist 2007 Awards (Cape Town, SA – July 21st 2007)

§ 60th World Association of Newspapers Conference (Cape Town, SA – June 3rd-6th)

§ Durban International Film Festival (20 June – 1 July 2007) For full details e-mail: rorvik@ukzn.ac.za)

§ Tiburon International Film Festival (Tuburon, California – March 20th-28th 2008)

People

South Africa: Jimi Matthews joins Telkom Media

Jimi Matthews, former head of e.tv and SABC TV news and who resigned as head of SABC TV Sports Production at the end of February, has been appointed by Telkom Media to run its 24 hour news channel. Telkom Media is one 18 applicants for a cable and satellite television licence, and will be rolling out Internet-based television, IPTV, in the latter half of 2008.

Ngcobo, CEO of Telekom Media, said Matthews had amassed experience unique to his South African counterparts, working for an international news agency (Reuters), a commercial station (e.tv) and a public broadcaster (SABC). He helped transform the evening news at both e.tv and SABC into the most popular bulletins in the country.

According to Ngcobo, Matthews’s varied experiences - starting a news room from scratch at e.tv, supervising the transition from analogue to digital at ReutersTV South Africa, overseeing all sports production output at SABC - will stand him in good stead at Telkom Media. “Jimi is also known for developing loyal teams with an inclusive management style.”

At Reuters, Matthews served as a cameraman, editor and senior producer for South and Central Africa. In 1998, he became the head of e.tv news and three years later, turned the channel’s half-hour news slot into an hour-long broadcast – the first in South Africa. Matthews then joined the SABC in 2002 as head of TV news, and in 2005 he moved to become head of Sports Production at the channel.

ScreenAfrica.com, 24 May 2007

EuroNews appoints a Head of Distribution for Africa

Jean-Luc Maertens, age 55, has joined the EuroNews team in the newly created position of Distribution Manager for Africa. A journalist specialising in Africa and former manager of the Africa and Indian Ocean desk for Canal France International, Jean-Luc will be in charge of boosting EuroNews’ presence in Sub-Saharan Africa through distribution on all broadcasting media.

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