Africa: The race to liberalise broadcast markets is just beginning
The 1990s saw the phenomenal growth of the mobile sector in Africa turning millions of people into the proud owners of a phone. This growth was made possible by opening Africa's telecoms market to new investment and competition, lowering prices and increasing choice. Broadcasting is about to go through the same cycle only twenty years later, writes Russell Southwood, and Africa's broadcast industry may see the same kind of growth.
In this issue
Content
Nigeria: Iredia Wants Community Broadcasting
Broadcast
Ghana: Don't sell off GBC - Dr Atuguba
Namibia: New TV Channel On the Cards
Nigeria: FCTA to Establish TV Station in Abuja
Nigeria: Confluence Cable Station Excites Kogi Residents
Uganda: GTV Struggles to Satisfy Demand, As Premier League Kicks Off
Botswana: GTV Hits the Market
Distribution
Africa: Multichoice Africa boosts capacity leases
Investment
Uganda: Third Pay-TV player Enters Market
More
Regulation & policy
Technology & convergence
Events
People
Opportunities
Top story
Africa: The race to liberalise broadcast markets is just beginning
The 1990s saw the phenomenal growth of the mobile sector in Africa turning millions of people into the proud owners of a phone. This growth was made possible by opening Africa's telecoms market to new investment and competition, lowering prices and increasing choice. Broadcasting is about to go through the same cycle only twenty years later, writes Russell Southwood, and Africa's broadcast industry may see the same kind of growth.
This issue of African Broadcast, Film and Convergence sees new pay-TV entrant GTV going into more countries and a third entrant announcing its presence in the Ugandan market. Cameroon has announced four new broadcast licences for private operators. Togo has announced the arrival of a sports channel. Two new broadcast stations appear to be on the cards, one in the capital Abuja and the other in Kogi State. As elsewhere in Africa, these last two stations have been prompted by local politicians, anxious to have access to the means of communication to promote themselves. It will take a breed of tough, brave regulators to police issues around fairness and access.
The state broadcasting sector is largely under-funded and will find it difficult to keep up with the pace of this race. Africa has not often seen public broadcasting in the purer sense (of the kind best represented by the BBC) as too many broadcasters have become the captive of Government, for whom they rely on their funding. At its worst, African state broadcasting is sadly amongst the dullest viewing on the planet.
More private broadcasters create new talent and new voices and spread the power to communicate into more hands. Africa's state broadcasters will need to create a clear role for themselves if they are to survive this onslaught. Simply repeating what the Government wants will not play well if there are alternatives. Why watch the President opening yet another something when you can watch a local football match or the Barclays Premier League?
A staggering fifty organisations were shortlisted to operate private radio or TV licences in Cameroon. Only four received licences - Spectrum TV, Canal 2 International, Sweet FM and TV+ - but according to Cameroon's Minister of Communications Professor Ebénézer Njoh Mouelle:" Amongst the 50 audio-visual stations only 4 of them have today received licences to operate. It means that 46 others should also be ready to come forth for their licences. The delay depends on them. They need to follow the example of those who have received an authorization to operate a private audio-visual media in Cameroon". In other words, show you can do it and we will give you a licence.
The process has been presented as a regularisation of the existing market as many stations already operate without a licence. According to the Minister:" The licence enables those who are already operating in the field to be formal rather than informal. Those who received the licence to operate have become more opened, recognised and can freely negotiate financial deals with foreign operators".
The main obstacle for more clearing the requirements for a licence are money. The sum paid depends on whether the station is a local or a national one. All applicants have cleared the technical requirements hurdles but the remaining 46 have found difficulty thus far in finding the money required to pay their licence fees. A lively and healthy media market in broadcasting will doubtless help with the process of raising the money. The first four entrants have a more or less clear run at it and should produce clear evidence of both listener/viewer interest and advertising revenues.
Meanwhile in Togo, a new TV channel - Télé Sport has launched that will concentrate on meeting the thirst for sport among its Togolese viewers. It will devote 90% of its content tosport, 5% to culture and 5% to science.
It wants to provide coverage of local Togolese sporting events as well as global events. Télé Sport broadcasts on Channel 29 that will start by covering the whole of the north of Lome but will eventually cover the whole region around the capital. It will employ a dozen people band its launch brings to six, the number of TV channels available to Togolese viewers. There are sixty radio stations, one of which is Sport FM.
Content
Nigeria: Iredia Wants Community Broadcasting
Director-General, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Dr Tonnie Iredia, last week canvassed for the establishment of community-based broadcasting stations, to bring the nation's ethnic communities into focus and government nearer to the people.
Iredia said this in Ilorin, in a paper entitled, "Broadcasting in a Developing Country - Challenges to Professionalism," at the national conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), adding that Nigeria's broadcasting is elitist and does not allow cultural development.
He said current development in the establishment of broadcasting that was elitist in nature has denied many people at the local level access to information that could be of immense contribution to their socio well-being.
According to Iredia, what we need this time around is community broadcasting stations that would be relevant to the society and not the kind of broadcasting stations like the CNN that has taken over most of the home nowadays
He said for example, a community station like that of the people of Ijebu-Ode would have access to, thereby promoting their culture and not the one that would deprive them access to information. Iredia, who was given a standing ovation, added that the community-based broadcasting stations would allow the use of local language and facilitate delivery of information.
He said professionalism should be enshrined in the day to day coverage of news in the broadcasting media, to enhance the nation's socio-economic development adding that professionalism should be decent and more importantly, should not create disharmony among the people.
(This Day (Lagos), 31 August 2007)
Broadcast
Ghana: Don't sell off GBC - Dr Atuguba
Dr. Raymond Atuguba, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Ghana said last Thursday that to sell the national broadcaster GBC was to sell the potential voices of the Ghanaian and African people to pave the way for their complete oppression by national and global forces. His speech was in response to a debate currently taking place in the country about how best to finance GBC, which like many African state broadcasters, is short of funding.
He said the government of Ghana and the public should be willing to pay 0.5 percent of Value Added Tax to turn GBC into a global media giant such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Voice of America (VOA), Cable News Network (CNN) and Aljazeera. He said the distinguishing difference between GBC and other global media giants must be that the GBC should seek to serve the public interest. Privatisation of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was not the panacea to the problem of funding Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) in the country.
GBC must reform, yes, but reforming GBC does not mean marketising it:"The fact that the market model is the cheapest, most readily available, and the currently the most dominant, does not mean that it is the proper model for GBC". He said there was overwhelming evidence that the global marketisation of public broadcasting had not been a success story.
Dr. Atuguba also argued that the attempt by GBC to adapt to new circumstances, especially with the explosion of both radio and television stations in the country, the corporation was at risk of destroying its philosophy and the mandate that it was set up for. He said with the fanatical and tense desire by the corporation to meet targets and pay the bills through competition could completely erode the philosophy, orientation, standards, systems, and practice of distinct and socially valuable broadcasting system that public sector broadcasting should be.
Since the alternative to meeting targets and paying bills is more state funding, it is hard to see how public sector broadcasting will not become ever more reliant on Government and thus even less independent than it currently is. But this is a debate that will affect increasingly large numbers of Africa's public broadcasters as they struggle to redefine their role in an increasingly competitive market place.
The lecture was organized by the GBC as part of activities marking the 72nd Anniversary in Accra.
(Accra, Aug. 30, GNA)
Namibia: New TV Channel On the Cards
Africa's latest pay-TV channel, GTV has applied to the Namibian Communications Commission for a licence to open operations. GTV is currently rolling out a more affordable pay-TV service across Africa, with plans to launch in Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
If the licence is granted, GTV will deliver across Gateway Communications' satellite infrastructure, provided by subsidiary company, Gateway Broadcast Services (GBS).
GTV's bouquet of channels will reportedly include G-Prime, BBC World, Sky News, Al-Jazeera, MTVBase, Kiss, Nickeelodeon, E!, Fashion TV, Star Plus, God Channel, and G-Africa, and thus some channels already on offer by DStv.
(New Era (Windhoek), 23 August 2007)
Nigeria: FCTA to Establish TV Station in Abuja
A committee has been set up by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to undertake a feasibility study that would lead to the establishment of a television station in Abuja.
The FCTA currently operates a radio station (Aso Radio FM) but the FCT minister of state, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, who chairs the committee, says the administration needs a television station that would allow residents keep abreast of its activities and global events.
The minister of state, who undertook an assessment tour of facilities already on ground in Karshi (Abuja Municipal Area Council); Abaji (Abaji Area Council), Bwari (Bwari Area Council), and the Aso Radio Station in Katampe Hill, promised to ensure that state-of-the-art equipment is procured to establish the TV station.
At the Karshi Booster Station, the managing director of Aso radio & TV Services PLC, Arabi Muhammed Tukur, informed the minister of state that the booster stations had not functioned properly for the last three years. He said it was established in 1998 by former minister, Gen. Jeremiah Useni (retired).
"The three booster stations have a one-kilowatt capacity each and would be unfit for the type of television station the administration plans to establish," Tukur disclosed.He said for the new station to have the required impact, the Karshi Booster Station would require a two-kilowatt transmitter; Bwari (two-kilowatts) and Abaji (five-kilowatts) because of its distance from the Abuja city.
(Daily Trust (Abuja), 24 August 2007)
Nigeria: Confluence Cable Station Excites Kogi Residents
As the stage is set for the commissioning of Kogi State's first private broadcasting station, Confluence Cable Network, residents of Lokoja and environs have continued to express excitement.
The Senate President, David Mark and several other dignitaries from across the country will perform the commissioning of the station, which is fixed to coincide with the birthday of its promoter, Senator Tunde Ogbeha.
A cross section of residents of the state who spoke to THISDAY in Lokoja were unanimous that the station couldn't have come at a better time than now, considering the inability of the state-owned broadcasting station to extend its services to every nook and cranny of the state and even when they did those services were mostly of a poor reception.
Showering encomiums on Ogbeha for establishing the station, a community leader from Yagba West Local Government area said the era of living in the dark has come to the end in Yagba West.
According to him, "the establishment of the station is a thing of great joy to those of us that reside in the rural areas because all this while, we have been living in the dark as we don't receive the signals of the state radio. Sometimes, we receive signals of Kwara and Ekiti States radio stations but most often, we are cut off."
Also, Mallam Gimba Shigaba, a resident of Dekina, commended the establishment of the station, and hailed Ogbeha for taking the bull by the horn to venture into broadcasting, which he described as capital intensive and a long term business venture that does not yield profit instantaneously.
"Since the vandalisation and burning of the state radio station at Ochaja early this year, people in the area have been living without listening to radio, and when we do, the stations we receive hardly report events in the state because they are not based here," he said. So, definitely, we are very happy with the coming of the station and we thank Senator Ogbeha for put his money into the venture".
Meanwhile, activities marking the commissioning of the station have reached feverish height a Lokoja, the state capital has been agog with different road shows and displays by various groups who were out to add colour to the occasion just as security has been beefed up in the capital by the state police command to ensure a hitch free commissioning.
However, with the coming on air of Grace 95.5FM, radio arm of the Broadcast Station today, one thing is certain: the masses of the state will be the better for it as the era of commencing broadcasting by 10:00am or noon sometimes as the case may be has gone as the people now have a choice while the impending competition would certainly engender better services from both the private and state owned stations.
(This Day (Lagos), 1 September 2007)
Uganda: GTV Struggles to Satisfy Demand, As Premier League Kicks Off
Overwhelming demand for the English Premier League games on pay television has left hundreds of customer queuing up at Gateway Television Broadcasting offices. Since August 12, GTV offices have been overcrowded with customers who want to buy services to be able to watch their favourite English Premiership teams play. GTV ran out of stock of decoders, dishes and other accessories.
"I know that the last unit of our stock was sold on Sunday and we currently we have 1,000 people who have paid up but have not received their hardware," Peter Mungoma, the sales and marketing manager, said last Wednesday.
GTV, which currently holds rights to broadcast 80 per cent of the Premiership games in East Africa, is rivaling DSTV Multichoice Uganda Ltd which has for the past 10 years dominated the local pay television market with its broadcast of English football.
The entry of GTV has brought in a new twist to competition with most football funs switching sides to have be able to watch their teams play.
"A combination of things has driven the demand up. One; the extreme popularity of the Barclays Premier League of which we have 80 per cent television rights, second; people have been looking forward to a new and more affordable pay television, plus of course the fantastic price of the offering on hardware could explain the upsurge in demand of the hardware," Mungoma said.
The competition has been underlined with price cuts for hardware and services and a publicity war in which the two broadcast firms have spent millions of shillings to woe customers. Multichoice' price for a fully installed hardware and initial subscription for services has dropped from over Shs600,000 two years ago to Shs279,000 two weeks ago.
It currently charges a monthly subscription fee of Shs116,450 for 50 channels on its premium bouquet, Shs42,500 for 25 channels on its Compact bouquet and Shs32,300 for 20 on the Family package, per month.
"The primary reason for the reduction is to drive sales up. We have introduced quite a number of products on the market like Big Brother and Deal or No Deal which have increased demand," said Mr Charles Hamya, the general manager Multichoice Uganda.
According to Mr Hamya, the company's sales have grown in the last one month.
Besides lowering the prices, Multichoice has also introduced a scheme where its interested customers can acquire their hardware and services on a hire purchase basis with an initial deposit of Shs100,000 to be completed in the next two months. Since it's inception in June, GTV has registered at least 5,000 customers according to GTV's Mungoma while Pearl Digital television is just rolling out and has unknown number of customers on board.
Mungoma said an extra 2,000 hardware sets have been imported and will be supplied as soon as they clear with the Uganda Revenue Authority at Entebbe. "We have stock at the airport and we are just clearing it and we hope to supply most dealers before the end of the week [last week]," he said.
GTV's price for a fully installed hardware and initial subscription is Shs350,000 with a subsequent monthly subscription of Shs71,000 for its G. Prime bouquet. According to Mungoma, what people want is good football, good news, and good movie channels all for the price of a utility bill.
(The Monitor (Kampala), 21 August 2007)
Botswana: GTV Hits the Market
New kid on the block, GTV held their consumer launch at the Fashion Lounge in Phakalane in Botswana, bringing competition and lower prices to the pay television market.
GTV is a new Pan-African pay TV service offering consumers a choice after years of a Multichoice-Botswana monopoly.
The pay TV service is provided by Gateway Broadcast Services (GBS), a subsidiary of Gateway Communications, which is a leading communications services provider in Africa covering over 37 countries.
The company is rolling out their TV service across sub-Saharan Africa in phases and already they have set shop in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius as well as Botswana.
According to Rhys Torrington, GTV's Commercial Director, they noted that there were 100,000 TV sets in Botswana and only 17% showing pay TV. He said that more people could subscribe to pay TV if it was priced like a utility rather than a luxury.
"This is good news not only for viewers, but for entire industries that are related to pay TV. Potential dealers, installers, call centre employees and shopkeepers will all have the opportunity to join the TV revolution in Africa," said Torrington.
GTV also comes at a time when the broadcasting rights for the Barclays Premier League have been restructured. The TV service comes boasting of 80% of all Premier League matches and all the most important matches. This is expected to be their draw card.
GTV have 13 channels covering sports, music, movies, news and religion. To get connected to GTV will cost P1 400, which would be a one off cost to cover for connection of satellite dish, decoder, smart card and one month subscription. Monthly subscription is P155.00 for G-Base, a 10 channels package without any sports dedicated channels. The second package G-Plus, with 13 channels including international sports costs P245.00.
Subscribers who wish to keep their DSTV subscriptions will have to buy second dishes and decoders as the ones they use for DSTV will not work. If however, you terminate your subscription you will only need a new decoder and some adjustment on the (Low Noise Block) LNB to get GTV.
The Voice (Francistown), 28 August 2007
Distribution
Africa: Multichoice Africa boosts capacity leases
The leading pay-TV operator in sub-Saharan African, MultiChoice Africa, has boosted its capacity leases with Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) to support further expansion of its pay television and Internet services in sub-Saharan Africa, the company discloses.
With the lease of four new Ku-band transponders on Eutelsat's SESAT 1 satellite, MultiChoice Africa is now capable of extending the range of digital channels it markets to subscribers in Central and East Africa as well as its offer of residential and corporate Internet access.
The new capacity allows MultiChoice Africa to use a total of 13 transponders on Eutelsat's W4 and SESAT 1 Ku-band satellites which are co-located at 36 degrees east. Through capacity leases with Eutelsat since 2000, the leading pay-TV operator has built a subscriber base of over 450,000 homes across 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa who already receive the company’s DStv platform of more than 70 TV and 40 audio channels catering for English, Portuguese, Indian and French-speaking communities.
The Chief Executive Officer of MultiChoice Africa, Eben Greyling, says the agreement put his company in a strong position to fulfil its commitment to subscribers in ensuring that they receive the world's best channels through DStv.
"The new agreement with Eutelsat ensures that we remain at the forefront of content and technology in digital satellite television. Our leadership in using the best technological platforms means we are able to continue delivering the most reliable signal delivering premium services in Africa," Greyling said.
Eutelsat Commercial Director, Olivier Millies-Lacroix, says, "we are very pleased to further cement our longstanding relationship with MultiChoice Africa through new capacity leases on the SESAT 1 satellite which, together with our collocated W4 satellite, is ideally located to serve growing video markets in the African continent."
MultiChoice Africa, a wholly owned subsidiary of MIH, is a pioneer in providing premium television entertainment through its Dstv bouquets. It has been operating in Africa for 12 years. MultiChoice Africa’s main operations include world-class subscriber management services and digital satellite television platforms.
(afrol News, 31 August)
Investment
Uganda: Third Pay-TV player Enters Market
"We have just opened our doors to the public. We are trying to get customers to have a feel of our services and get their responses on the product before we do a mega launch," said Philip Winyi, a director of JRNet Limited, the franchise-holder of Pearl Digital. The soft launch of the product comes barely four months after Gateway Television (GTV) unveiled its services to the market as the second pay television in Uganda.
Winyi said the company has not yet announced its services because it is still testing the appropriateness of their products among their current customers. "We have 80 channels but we are currently sorting out the best for our customers," he said adding that the company has put up 20 trial channels on the market for a set-up charge of Ushs350, 000 and monthly subscription of Ushs35,000. The 20 include; HBO, Sound Track Channel, EWTV, BBC Prime, Al Jazeera, ESPN Classic, Ten Sports, CNN, Dubai One, Fox Life among others. Most of these are movie, sports, music, religious and news channels.
The company transmits its services by Line-of- Sight broadcasting technology, which delivers high-quality video by a compact digital decoder. Winyi revealed that the company has been operating on trial for a few months. "We are currently based in Kampala and we shall soon have agents and distributors in residential and commercial areas around the country," he said.
Besides providing television, using the same hardware link Pearl Digital will also provide the Internet to its customers to fulfil its mission of integrating the global village though broadcast. "If we can bridge the link for infotainment into someone's home or office then we shall be moving towards our corporate mission. We would like to see Ugandans enjoy all the information they need at the same time send and receive it at an affordable rate," he said. The television, which is owned by three indigenous Ugandans, will officially unveil its products and services to consumers in November this year.
(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 23 August 2007)
More
Regulation & policy
Congo: Private TV Station Shut Down - Several Journalists Questioned Following Broadcast of Interview With Rebel Leader
A weekend of media repression in Kinshasa has resulted in at least four journalists being questioned for several hours by the intelligence services, the closing of a private TV station, and the confiscation of a tape recording of an interview with a rebel leader.
Stéphane Kitutu O'Leontwa, general manager of CCTV/RALIK (Canal Congo Télévision/Radio Liberté Kinshasa), Thierry Musenepo, general manager, Christophe Ali, production manager, and Tutu Kazadi, assistant producer with BRTV (Business Radio Télévision), both Kinshasa-based stations, were arrested on 26 August 2007, around 3:00 p.m. (local time) by National Intelligence Agency agents.
The signal of BRTV station was suddenly cut a few hours prior to the arrests, and broadcasts had yet to resume on 27 August. No official reason was given to explain these actions.
According to information gathered by JED through a close colleague of Kitutu's and a BRTV manager, the ANR blames the two stations for broadcasting a controversial 2006 interview with General Laurent Nkunda Batware, a rebel leader based in the Masisi territory near Goma, the main city of North Kivu province, on 24 August.
The journalists were interrogated for several hours about the origin of the interview and the motivation behind its broadcast. They were asked to "remain available for further investigation."
(Journaliste En Danger (Kinshasa), 27 August 2007)
Niger: Government Bans Live Broadcasts On Tuareg Rebellion
Niger's state-run High Council on Communications has banned the broadcast of live debates on an armed rebellion of nomadic Tuaregs in the north of the uranium-rich West African nation, according to local journalists. Attacks by Tuareg fighters have killed at least 45 soldiers since February, according to Reuters.
The ruling on Tuesday was linked to the broadcast of a live panel Saturday morning on private station Radio Saraounya FM in the capital, Niamey, the journalists said. The debate contained commentary critical of the government's handling of the conflict.
Broadcasters are still free to air debates and opinions as long as they are not live, Daouda Diallo, the council's president today told CPJ. Calling the ruling "technical" in response to a "controversial national issue," he said that the council is not monitoring content.
But criticism of a presidential decree granting security forces blanket powers to combat the rebels led authorities to detain opposition leader Issoufou Bachar this week for 48 hours. Bachar had appeared on a panel on Radio Saraounya FM, according to station director Moussa Kaka. Regardless, Saraounya FM would respect the ban, Kaka said.
"We are concerned that this ban on live broadcasts is just the thin end of the wedge for censorship of coverage of the conflict in northern Niger," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director. "We call on the authorities to lift the ban immediately and cease attempts to stifle news and commentary on the Tuareg rebellion."
"We are troubled by the government's increasing restrictions on the press over coverage of the conflict in northern Niger," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director. "We call on the authorities to rescind this ban undermining press freedom."
In recent weeks, authorities banned private bimonthly "Aïr Info", threatened Kaka, and banned Paris-based Radio France Internationale for a month because of its coverage of the conflict.
(Committee to Protect Journalists (New York), 31 August 2007)
Technology & convergence
Cameroon: Guy Manu launches Internet television channel
According to its promoters at its launch in Stains in France last Thursday, LCA1 TV will be "a gateway into and out of the continent." The launch took place in the home of Paulin Akoa, the Conseil Administrative of the channel.
Based on the web, LCA1 TV will give the user access to radio, television and the written press. The project is supported by Essua, a grouping of diaspora African producers and artists. Among them is Guy Tondji, better known by his artistic name of Guy Manu. He is the président-directeur general of the channel. According to Tondji the channel was launched because of "the very real challenge of the cultural diversity of the continent and to promote its arts.." The Channel will start on the Internet before migrating to satellite at some later point.
Nigeria: Digital switchover date set for 2012
The Federal government has said that come 2012, all analog transmission across the country will be switched off in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Speaking yesterday at the launch of DStv Mobile television at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja by Details Nigeria, the Acting Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa said the government would ensure that by 2015 which is the set target by the MDGs, no home in Nigeria will be left behind in receiving signals.
(Vanguard (Lagos), 29 August 2007)
Nigeria: DSTV Mobile Debuts in Nigeria
Nigeria attained another technological height yesterday, with the launch of Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) by Details Nigeria Ltd, one of the licenced pioneers of Multi-point Multi-channel Distribution Services (MMDS) in the country. The first of its kind in Africa, the DVB-H is a technological standard that allows digital terrestrial broadcast of live television and audio channels to a mobile phone. Subscribers can watch their favourite Dstv channel on their mobile phones while on the move.
The technology, which will be rolled out commercially by December this year, will afford subscribers the opportunity to view 12 Dstv channels on their phones. Such channels include CNN, Big Brother Africa, NTA, African Magic, Trinity Broadcasting service, Supersport 3, and E entertainment. Other channels include supersport update, channel O, Cartoon network, Supersport 9, and M-Net movies channels.
Acting Director-General, Nigeria Broadcasting Commis-sion (NBC), Yomi Bolarinwa, commended the development, syaing it was in line with Nigeria's target of seamless transmission from analogue to digital by 2012, ahead of the International Telecommu-nications Union's (ITU) 2015 target.He said the innovation buttresses the notion that technological development is the way forward, if the country is to rub shoulders with developed economies of the world in the digital transmission across the diverse cultural background.
(This Day (Lagos), 29 August 2007)
Events
* People to People - Documentary Conference event
13th-15th September, Atlas Studios, Johannesburg, South Africa
The high profile and well established festivals, the 3 Continents Film Festival and the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, together with the Southern Africa Communications for Development (Sacod), a long standing network of industry practitioners from 11 southern African countries, are the joint initiators of the conference. The conference takes forward the work of our respective organisations to fulfill the critical role of documentary film in the South.
For further information contact Lavinia Jonasi, Conference Administrator on +27 (0)76 909 or by email at info@sacod.org.za
*23rd Alexandria International Film Festival
7th-11th September 2007, Alexandria, Egypt
Organised by the Egyptian Association of Film Writers and Critics, the Alexandria Film Festival aims to broaden film culture and strenghthen the relationships between filmmakers throughout the world.
For further information visit the film's website at www.alexfilmfest.com
* Sacomm Conference 2007
19-21st September 2007, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
As a developing continent, Africa is faced with a multitude of general communication challenges. The objectives of this conference are to discuss communication challenges within the African context.
For further information visit http://www.uovs.ac.za/sacomm
* Africa Broadcasting and Media Congress 2007
29 October - 2 November 2007 - Johannesburg, South Africa
The Africa Broadcasting and Media Congress is committed to improving technology, service and ROI in this rapidly evolving African market. Bringing together leading companies with senior decision makers and helping to drive African broadcasting and media into the 21st century and beyond.
By popular demand the Africa Media and Broadcasting Congress 2007 is proud to add an extra IPTV masterclass to the event. This separately bookable day will provide you with some essential insight into IPTV as well as its potential for the African continent.
For more information please visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/mediaza or contact Evashnee Pillay, Marketing Manager on +27 11 516 4016 or at evashnee.pillay@terrapinn.co.za
· IPTV World Forum Middle East&Africa
· 5-6 November 2007, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai
· The conference will focus on delivering multi-platform television over IP.
· For further information visit http://www.iptv-mea.com/
Jobs & Opportunities
Call for Entries. Short Films for Yahoo!'s Global City Beats Movie
Global City Beats is YAHOO!'s first User-Generated-Content movie.
Users and filmmakers worldwide are encouraged to shoot a short movie between 2 and 8 Minutes and upload this movie to Yahoo! Video.
Our jury will then pick the 15-20 best short-films which will be part of the theatre movie "Global City Beats".
All users whose short film is chosen to be part of the movie will receive 1.000 Euro and a share from the theatre income.
The movie premieres in theatres in Germany and will then be distributed internationally.
More Information: http://de.movies.yahoo.com/global-city-beats/en/globalcitybeats.html
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