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African IP-TV – Will the pioneers get the arrows or the land?

IP-TV has crept up slowly on Africa. The pioneers have introduced it without much fanfare. It is an activity that exemplifies the word convergence and is probably one against which the reality of this idea will be judged on the continent. Currently, IP-TV is being offered in a small number of African countries: Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Morocco and Senegal. Others like South Africa are planning to enter the market. The question is: will the pioneers of IP-TV get the arrows and the settlers (who come along later) get the land?

In issue 14

Content

African Movie Channel in tie-up with 3A Telesud to bring Ya Ma’Afrika to viewers on-demand

Kenya: Nairobi Festival a Great Boon to EA Film-Makers

South Africa: 'SABC beefing up its foreign news'

Botswana and Namibia: GTV Holds Hope for Soccer Fans wanting English Premier League football

Broadcast

South Africa: E.TV sees profits double

Cameroon: CRTV Staff On Brink of Strike Action

Nigeria: Unesco Boosts Unilag Radio With N1.190m

South Africa: Jozi FM in turmoil over who controls the station

Distribution

Namibia: Fan to Launch Film Website

South Africa: TV Stations Object to Paying SABC

Investment

South Africa: Kagiso Considers Move Into Pay TV

Liberia: LMC/RNTC Launches Radio Project

More

Regulation & policy

Technology & convergence

Events

People

Opportunities

Top story

African IP-TV – Will the pioneers get the arrows or the land?

IP-TV has crept up slowly on Africa. The pioneers have introduced it without much fanfare. It is an activity that exemplifies the word convergence and is probably one against which the reality of this idea will be judged on the continent. Currently, IP-TV is being offered in a small number of African countries: Algeria, Benin, Egypt, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Morocco and Senegal. Others like South Africa are planning to enter the market. The question is: will the pioneers of IP-TV get the arrows and the settlers (who come along later) get the land?

Two of these pioneers are from West Africa – Senegal and Cape Verde – and the changes have largely been driven by importing business models from the European owners of the telco incumbents. Senegal’s Sonatel (now rebranded as Orange Senegal) launched the commercial version of its service – TV d’Orange – in June 2006 just over a year ago. The offer included a choice of TV channels and a video on demand service.

According to company sources, the downloads service:“was supposed to be the “killer application”. But so far, Video on Demand has had a slow start. In part, this can be attributed to the mediocre quality of the content selected. Orange Senegal has learnt its lesson and has recently updated the content by adding more US films and more local content.

The latter is often seen as a great draw for subscribers but the quality of much current African local content – leaving aside local football coverage and Nollywood – cannot really be described that way. This is hardly surprising in Senegal as the local broadcast industry, outside of the state-run channels, is largely “dead” and any Senegalese TV producer worth his or her salt has already taken up residence in Paris. Government monopoly is not a good breeding ground for attractive local content. Nevertheless Orange hopes that the Video on Demand service will take off in the coming next two years as people get more familiar with it.

The tiny cluster of islands that make up Cape Verde seem an unlikely place for the launch of IP-TV services. In October 2006, CV Telecom has set up a new subsidiary CVMultimédia that offered four different programme bouquets branded Zap TV on a monthly subscription. The competitor to CV Telecom’s Zap TV is called CVXTV (Cabo Verde Xinnuolide Serviços de Comunicações Electrónicas e Teledifusão Digital), a subsidiary of Xiamen Sinonets Electronics, a Chinese company with experience of satellite television in China.

The experience of both of these countries in West Africa – one at the larger market end of the spectrum and the other at the smaller – suggest that where telcos have a solid base of reliable DSL connections, IP-TV has some potential.

But everywhere the key problem for these telcos getting into IP-TV is getting access to the rights for content at a price that works, hence the reason that some have been betting on the much easier content rights for downloads. Mauritius Telecom has yet to negotiate a bouquet of programmes with existing rights holders which leaves it with a download service that is not achieving spectacular traffic. One of Algeria’s newer operators, ISP Eepad has launched a trial version of its IP-TV service at the end of July 2007. According to its D-G Nouar Harzellah, the company is in negotiation with various national and international content providers and will be making announcements later in the year. Again it cites difficulties in negotiating rights as the reasons for the delays.

The biggest of the IP-TV entrants is Telkom Media in South Africa. It has appointed a skilled local producer to make content and talked substantial investment sums for this programming. However, on key rights deals like the English Premier League, it has remained remarkably quiet.

All of those implementing IP-TV have had teething problems with technical quality, most notably the speed with which programming responds to the remote TV channel changer but most of these issues have now been overcome.

The above article is a summary of a report on Africa’s current and proposed IP-TV players appearing in African Telecoms and Internet Markets – Part 1:West Africa being published by Balancing Act on 30 October 2007. This section of the report contains detailed information on: content packages, subscriber numbers, pricing, distribution costs and technology issues. For further details:

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html

Scroll down to Forthcoming Publications. Order now and stay ahead of the competition.

Content

African Movie Channel in tie-up with 3A Telesud to bring Ya Ma’Afrika to viewers on-demand

Telesud’s exciting new TV series, Ya Ma’Afrika made by its production company, Soundview Africa based in New York, debuts on the African Movie Channel, AMC this October. The highly acclaimed new series started airing on Telesud in September.

Ya Ma’Afrika is a fictional drama show that fuses the lives of 4 African women living in Brooklyn, New York and highlights the cultural experiences, contradictions and challenges of Africans living in the West. In the show, Yetunde (Nigeria), Kui (Kenya), Chipo (Zimbabwe) and Welisane (Cameroon) are housemates from all corners of Africa with different backgrounds. The women confront issues ranging from relationships to employment and immigration. The show is glamorous with a level of sophistication and at the same time it is raw, touching on real issues. The show captures the cosmopolitan side of Africans, rarely shown on TV.

African Movie Channel’s co-founder and co-director, ‘Yinka Mayungbo told us: “bringing this exciting new series to our channel is another first for AMC. This will be AMC’s first foray into TV series. We have primarily offered movies to our viewers. It’s another milestone in our mission to bring only the best quality African entertainment from Africa, and the best African content made by Africans in the Diaspora, to our viewers. It’s been fantastic working with Telesud to bring this fine series to our channel…”.

Commenting on the partnership with AMC, Yves Bollanga, Telesud’s manager for North America (USA and Canada), says “Ya Ma’Afrika is too good to be available only to our viewers. It’s our best TV series to date. We look forward to making our excellent productions available on-demand on AMC, and on broadcast TV stations all around the world.” Each episode of Ya Ma’Afrika will be made available on AMC immediately after it has aired on Telesud.

Kenya: Nairobi Festival a Great Boon to EA Film-Makers

Nairobi will for the next one week be turned into a movie capital of sorts, with more than 10,000 enthusiasts from the eastern Africa region and beyond expected to converge on the city for the second edition of the Kenya International Film Festival (KIFF).

According to the organisers, the Kenya International Film Festival Trust, 200 films are to be screened, which is treble the number at last year's event, thanks to the huge interest from as far afield as Europe, Asia, the US and the Middle East. The show is to be held at the Alliance Francaise, Goethe Institut, National Museums of Kenya and Italian Cultural Centre auditoriums.

There will also be screenings at the National Theatre, Nairobi Safari Club and Chester House. Unlike last year, the organisers of KIFF, whose theme this year's is the Promotion of African Cinema and Encouraging the Growth of the Indigenous African Cinema, are also taking the movies to the people.

There are planned public screenings at Kawangware, Huruma, Kibera and Kangemi in the city, while buffs in downtown Nairobi had the opportunity to watch a movie, courtesy of projectors beaming on huge screens at a section of Aga Khan Walk last night, and this will go on for the whole week.

Among the films Kenyans can expect to watch is the highly acclaimed Malooned, which is locally produced by Bob Nyanja. It is one of the most talked-about productions in Kenya this year.

Sheila Mulinya, another young local producer whose movie, The Stigma, will be screened in the long features category, says the festival is a blessing to the local producers and fans alike. "With only three major TV stations in the country, there has always been lack of a medium for us to showcase our work, and for me this festival is a platform to the international arena," adds Mulinya, one of the beneficiaries of the recent exchange between Kenyan film-makers and their Nigerian counterparts.

Other Kenyan producers whose movies will be screened include Judy Kabinge, Robby Bresson and Mary Migui. The movies are in six categories - long features, documentaries, experimental, students' productions, short features and animations.

A partnership with foreign embassies in Kenya has given the festival the much needed international touch, and director Bram Vergeer of Holland has entered two movies - New Voices and Zenji Flava.

The main attraction at the show is the community screening of the best films from South Africa and East Africa, as well a special tribute to award-winning novelist and film director Sembene Ousmane.

"We also managed to get a jury of renowned producers from six countries, meaning that judging for prizes on offer will be very balanced," says Charles Asiba, the festival director. Nine awards are up for grabs in each category, including for best actor, best actress and best Kenyan film.

Other than the film screening, there are workshops held by various organisations to benefit mass media and film students and those in and around Nairobi intending to make film-making a career.

Last year, for instance, the World Intellectual Property Organisation held a three-day workshop which discussed film rights in the region and beyond.

This greatly benefited established as well as trainee film-makers. The media -a key partner in the development of the film industry - have not been left behind either. A special workshop on film critiquing will be held during the festival.

This will be facilitated by experts from Europe and the US. The programme is aimed at promoting African movies and encouraging the general public to watch them. But perhaps the best news about the festival is that mobile phone company Celtel has come in with a sponsorship package worth Sh2.5 million. "This is in line with Celtel's commitment to promoting art and culture in the country, and this is just a start," says corporate affairs manager Janet Kabue.

Inaugurated last year, the event's main objective is to help to develop a film culture in Kenya and the region by showcasing local and international productions. It also aims at encouraging Kenyan film-makers to contribute productions which are truly Kenyan, but can go across the borders.

The festival is expected to create a local and regional audience by showcasing films that are not necessarily distributed to the local cinemas or television stations.

KIFF has had a significant impact on the national scene in just two years. Early this year, for instance, it had 10 Kenyan films screened at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, the US, but only Enough is Enough, Mo & Me, Kibera Kid and Rain in a Dry Land came tops.

(The Nation (Nairobi), 29 September 2007)

South Africa: 'SABC beefing up its foreign news'

The SABC's news division is pressing ahead with plans to become a globalised African media organisation. Snuki Zikalala, SABC managing director of news and current affairs, told the Cape Argus the public broadcaster was beefing up its foreign news bureaux and could open offices in Ethiopia, China, India and Russia in 2008. The corporation had correspondents in Washington, New York, London, Brussels, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The out-going board of the SABC had approved the opening of bureaux in Jamaica, Brazil, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Kenya, Zikalala said. These would be operational before the end of 2007.

"We want to give authentic, authoritative and quality news from our correspondents based in all corners of the world," Zikalala said. Other initiatives that had been launched included a 24-hour news channel, which went live two months ago.

Zikalala said the public broadcaster was keen to establish a news agency that would sell text, audio and video footage from its worldwide bureaux and South African operations to other media organisations. "We have so much content it therefore has become important for us to sell this footage. We can recoup some of the money we have invested in our operations if the news agency becomes successful," Zikalala said.

The SABC is also building a TV studio at the New York headquarters of the UN. The UN bureau would be the only SABC foreign operation staffed by two South African correspondents. Other bureaux are manned by a single correspondent.

Zikalala said it was envisaged that the news agency would begin operations in November. To be successful, the agency would have to compete against long-established and reputable organisations like Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France Presse. Zikalala was confident that the news agency would be able to establish a market for its footage, especially among African broadcasters and publishing groups.

He said the SABC had budgeted R120-million to establish the new bureaux, news agency and 24-hour channel. The multimillion-rand expansion of the SABC's news-gathering capacity comes amid sustained controversy over the appointment of a new board for the public broadcaster.

Critics have railed against what they perceive to be the ruling-ANC's attempt to fill the board with individuals sympathetic to the party. Although the board has yet to be approved by President Thabo Mbeki, critics have opposed the inclusion of Gugulethu-raised businesswoman Gloria Serobe and Cape Town-based lawyer Christine Qunta. ANC members of Parliament's portfolio committee on communications have said they were given a list of names, but when they opposed some of these, the party's Luthuli House headquarters intervened. The ANC has denied interfering. The new board takes office in 2008.

(IOL.co.za, 24th September 2007)

Botswana and Namibia: GTV Holds Hope for Soccer Fans wanting English Premier League football

English Premier League football fans may soon be smiling again after confirmation that the Namibian Communications Commission officially gazetted GTV's television broadcasting licence on Monday.

The formal applicant for the broadcasting licence is Gateway Broadcasting Service Namibia, a subsidiary of UK-based Gateway Telecommunications. The announcement in early August that MultiChoice would no longer broadcast a complete package of English Premier League matches on its DStv satellite service caused a furore among subscribers.

MultiChoice General Manager, Kobus Bezuidenhout, confirmed their SuperSport channel would only broadcast 20 percent of English Premier League football matches. There were even threats of an organised boycott on paying DStv subscription fees by irate soccer fans when the news emerged. To maximise income, the English Premier League structured its television rights for the African continent into three packages consisting of 80, 20 and 10 percent of matches respectively. Gateway Broadcast Services, a subsidiary of Gateway Telecommunications, launched a new pan-African pay-TV service, GTV, in June, which won the rights to 80 percent of the Premier League matches in Africa.

Meanwhile state Btv in Botswana has been given the 10 percent chunk of the much-sought-after English Premier League games. Under the arrangement, viewers of the free-to-air channel are assured of a least one live Premiership match a week. The development means that Botswana now has three channels showing live Premier League matches - Btv and the pay service duo of GTV and Multichoice. Already Btv aired its first live Premier League match - Derby against Newcastle - in the new dispensation on Monday. The next attraction is this weekend's clash of giants between champions Manchester United and Chelsea. Besides the live matches, Btv is allowed to air a preview of the games. Btv has entered the English Premiership fray courtesy of a new arrangement where a national free-to-air broadcaster is allowed one game every week for free.

(Sources: New Era (Windhoek) and Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

Broadcast

South Africa: E.TV sees profits double

E.TV, the only commercial terrestrial channel in South Africa, nearly doubled after-tax profit in the year ended in March, giving a timely liquidity boost to its major shareholder, Hosken Consolidated Investments. It will need deep pockets to set up its pay TV venture E.sat -- one of four new pay TV licenses issued in South Africa this month.

Tech investment group Venfin said E.TV, through its holding company, Venfin subsidiary Sabido, was the main profit-driver for the group. It almost doubled its valuation of its E.TV investment to $180 million from $98 million a year ago.

HCI, which has the major stake in Sabido, said its media and broadcasting division had revenues of $130 million and after-tax profits of $49.5 million in the fiscal year ended in March, with the bulk of revenues and earnings derived from E.TV, which had lifted its revenue by 31% and after-tax profit by 95%.

Launched in 1998, E.TV was in the red six years ago but has since shown steady growth. HCI chairman Marcel Golding said the channel had continued to slowly increase its viewership, driven by a marked increase in its black, middle-income viewership. Sabido announced earlier this month that it had acquired a 49% stake in Gaborone Broadcasting Co., based in northern neighbor Botswana.

Media analysts believe HCI's cash-rich situation could be one key to its success in the looming pay TV market battle, which will see four new players -- E.sat, Telkom Media, On Digital Media and Walking on Water -- take on MultiChoice, which has had a decades-long monopoly in the South African market.

(Variety.com, 26th September 2007)

Cameroon: CRTV Staff On Brink of Strike Action

The poor state of Government broadcasting in Africa is well illustrated by the threatened strike action at Cameroon Radio and Television. However, it is not clear whether there are real financial shortages or if some of the current managers are simply siphoning off funds for themselves tat ought to be used for programming.

Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV, workers have called on their General Manager, Amadou Vamoulke, to improve their working conditions or grapple with an indefinite strike action. The warning is contained in a strongly worded petition that staff delegates sent to the General Manager on September 13. One of the delegates, who asked for anonymity, said the substance of the letter is a litany of workers' grievances, including unfulfilled promises made by the CRTV boss shortly after he was appointed in 2005.

Among other grievances, CRTV workers hold that since the rise of Vamoulke, the Corporation stopped paying part of the 13th month salary to them that is fondly known in the house as "C 40". This is 40 percent of the salary of the 13th month that is usually paid to workers of state corporations. The workers say banks are refusing to give loans to them, complaining that it is a non-insurable risk since the corporation is now under restructuring by an inter-ministerial committee.

The banks, they say, are afraid to give loans to CRTV workers since they do not know who will be sacked and who will not be sacked at the end of the restructuring exercise. CRTV workers say they are also angry about the fact that since Vamoulke came; advancements have no longer been coming. The suppression of leave allowances, they state, has only made things worse.

They said even though it is clearly stated in the corporation's statutes that the house will foot 80 percent of medical bills of workers, the reality is that some workers fall sick and even die without being able to have such a benefit because of administrative bottlenecks.

They claim that despite the fact that Vamoulke promised modern management of the Corporation, the handling of finances is laced in total chaos, in such a way that the money allocated for the production of certain programmes ends up in private pockets "Some Directors get the monthly budget for the production of programmes and end up embezzling the money," one staff delegate told The Post.

According to him, real producers do their job in total financial penury while certain Directors feed on fat from the budget. He said in certain departments working conditions are so bad that journalists even lack writing paper.

They hold that Vamoulke's modern management plan is a farce because he has taken upon himself to buy new equipment in the house while neglecting the well being of human resources. One of them stated that Vamoulke has a wonderful vision to modernise management techniques but lacks a strategy to make such a dream a reality.

Some people even argue that the finances of CRTV are dwindling because even those who are supposed to canvass for adverts still sit in their air-conditioned offices, thinking that advertisers will keep coming to them as if they were still enjoying absolute monopoly in the audio-visual media.

Due to administrative bottlenecks in CRTV, they say, many advertisers now prefer to do business with Canal 2, STV and other private television stations. But a source that is close to CRTV management said Vamoulke had good intentions for CRTV workers but was impeded by the financial difficulties that are currently rocking the national broadcasting house.

He said each time the General Manager planned to execute good reforms, some detractors connive with certain authorities to block them. Unlike his predecessor, Mendo Ze, Vamoulke is said to have a cold relationship with the former Minister of Finance, Polycarp Abah Abah. Such a situation allegedly made it difficult for CRTV to get money from the public treasury.

The CRTV GM is said to have promised workers during his visit of the Provincial Stations recently that he would start paying the C 40 before the reopening of the current academic year for workers to send their children to school with ease. The workers waited in vain.

The General Manager now seems to be in a fix as it is alleged that his collaborators unduly gave FCFA 50 million that was set-aside for the purpose to a board member of the corporation. The workers say they are angry because when the board meeting of CRTV held recently, nothing trickled out of it as to how management was planning to improve what they see as their appalling working condition.

(The Post (Buea), 20 September 2007)

Nigeria: Unesco Boosts Unilag Radio With N1.190m

University of Lagos (UNILAG) has received equipment worth over N1 million from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for its Mass Communication Radio station. UNESCO's Director and Country Representative in Nigeria, Abhimanyu Singh, while presenting the equipment to the university management on Monday in Abuja said the gesture was in line with the organization's resolve towards supporting independent and pluralistic media in the country.

Singh said "the Support for independent and pluralistic media project was approved in 2007 within the strategic plans of UNESCO's communication and information sector for the development of a free and vibrant local media." While noting that the presence of an independent and free media is one of the bulwarks of democracy which the United Nation (UN) advocates the UNESCO director added that the organization was in support of a strengthened media and freedom of information in the country.

"A vibrant and responsible national media creates a platform for citizens to constantly engage their leaders at all levels towards ensuring even growth and development of the society," he said Speaking on the reason for the choice of UNILAG as the recipient of the equipment, Singh said the institution's mass communication radio falls within the needed criteria.

"We are proud to identify with station which has served as a centre for training journalists, not only in Nigeria but across the whole of Africa . We also believe the more students who benefit from the experience and training, the better Nigeria would be for it," he said.

Receiving the equipment which include audio mixers, portable audio recorders, audio tapes and compact discs and external microphones, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Tolu Odugbemi, said the relationship between UNESCO and the institution had lasted over 40 years.

(Daily Champion (Lagos), 25 September 2007)

South Africa: Jozi FM in turmoil over who controls the station

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has called for an emergency meeting on Monday, 1 October 2007, with the parties involved in the Sowetan community radio station Jozi FM crisis. Recently, Jozi FM has been embroiled in a controversy over control of the radio station by various groups, challenging the legitimacy of the current management and the board.

ICASA held separate meetings with a group of residents calling itself the "Task Team" on 25 September 2007 and later with the management and board of Jozi FM on 26 September so as to appraise itself of the issues and to hear "both sides of the story" in the dispute. The authority has also sought the participation of the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF) as a facilitator in resolving the dispute surrounding the radio station.

The dispute resolution process, to be overseen by ICASA, seeks to be consultative and will culminate in the holding of an AGM of the radio station. The NCRF, as an association of community radio stations, is expected to play a critical role in assisting Jozi FM and the Soweto community in arriving at a sustainable solution.

The 1 October meeting comes in the wake of negative media publicity surrounding the Soweto radio station in the past weeks, and a subsequent picket by members of the "Task Team" at ICASA's head office in Sandton.

(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 28 September 2007)

Distribution

Namibia: Fan to Launch Film Website

The Filmmakers Association of Namibia (FAN) will launch a website next month, it has been learnt.

According to FAN board member, Michaela Bauer, the website will cover a wide field on the Namibian film industry. "Besides information on the Namibian film industry and regular updates, this website will also include a first Namibian directory for filmmakers. FAN members will have the exclusive right to get listed.

"Please note that, even as a FAN member, you have to apply separately for webpage listing," Bauer said. She indicated that FAN members will be availed free listing for initial entry on the website, but N$110 will be levied for detailed listings, for a period of four months. "Membership renewal is due in March 2008. Therefore you will only pay for the listing for four months. From next year you will be able to sign up for the full year of membership. FAN's webpage will give you a platform to advertise specifically for your target market.

"We therefore need your support to develop and maintain the site," she appealed to local filmmakers. Bauer said at this stage FAN only guarantees advertising space for a maximum of half a year. The deadline for listing and advertising is today.

(New Era (Windhoek), 28 September 2007)

South Africa: TV Stations Object to Paying SABC

Multichoice says it is already paying millions to carry SABC channels on its DStv platform, after the public broadcaster's "must carry, must pay" submission to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). Under the Electronic Communications Act, Icasa has to prescribe regulations regarding the extent to which broadcasters must carry, "subject to commercially negotiable terms", programmes provided by the SABC.

However, the cost of carrying extra satellite signal adds up to about R1,8m a channel already - without any content fee. If any new broadcaster were forced to carry all the SABC's free-to-air channels, this would add at least an extra R7,2m in annual fees, MultiChoice CE Nolo Letele said yesterday. "While the principle of carrying the public broadcaster's channels is fair, if you then have to pay (the SABC) for the content too, this leads to an increase in fees for subscribers."

The SABC was increasing its viewership by broadcasting on platforms such as DStv, he said, from which it should be able to increase its advertising revenue.

The SABC this week repeated its intention to enter pay-television through "must carry" and the sale of content. SABC CEO Dali Mpofu said the broadcaster would enter the space "one way or another". In a discussion document, the SABC said Icasa should make pay-television broadcasters pay for SABC content as it was being used by a commercial platform.

This caused ripples among newly licensed players, namely Telkom Media, ODM, e.sat and the Christian channel Walking on Water TV (Wow-TV). Wow-TV told the Sunday Times it would not carry SABC channels as it "has a totally contrasting view to what we stand for". The others largely agreed that they should not be forced to pay extra for SABC content unless it was commercially viable. While MultiChoice carries the four SABC channels free of charge, it does charge the SABC for carrying its Africa channel.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 20 September 2007)

Investment

South Africa: Kagiso Considers Move Into Pay TV

Leading black-owned media company Kagiso Media may be looking at diversifying out of radio after it confirmed yesterday it was "entertaining" the idea of entering the pay-television space as part of its intended growth plans. "This is just one of the decisions we are considering, but there is nothing firm on the table as yet," said Kagiso financial director Sandra Pienaar .

Pienaar said the company had sent a letter of intent to ODM Media, one of the country's newly licensed pay-television companies, to "discuss" acquiring 10% of ODM's shares. Kagiso would, however, still need to weigh up the decision against other potential acquisitions, and no concrete decisions had been made. The Kagiso board said in a statement to the JSE last week that it would pay out a dividend of only 18c per share, 50% of the attributable earnings, in order to pursue "investment opportunities" in the media space.

CEO Murphy Morobe said that in future, the company "would focus on moving into the new media space" as well as concentrate on poorly performing assets within the company. The company declared a 14% increase in profit for the year to June, to R236m. It said revenue had increased 22% to R738m for the year, and that hefty financial investments for the year had affected the company's income, including a 37% increase in employee costs to bolster its underperforming exhibitions and events business.

Exhibitions and events increased its revenue 38% and Morobe said converting more of this into profit would be greatly assisted by the management restructuring process -- which had formed a part of the company's R107m investments into what it termed "employee costs".

Broadcasting revenue increased 16%, driven by growth in its controlled radio interests, namely East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM. The group has a 25,1% interest in Johannesburg-based station Kaya FM, and Free State-based OFM, while Heart 104.9 serves the Cape Town market and iGagasi 99.5 reaches Durban and Pietermaritzburg audiences.

While it has reached its threshold in terms of the number of radio broadcasting licences available, Morobe said the company would look at further increasing its stakes within those radio stations which it did not already control. Revenue at its online and print publishing company, LexisNexis-Butterworths, grew 14% to R307m with operating profit up 22% to R95m.

The company formed Kagiso Outdoor alongside African Media Entertainment (AME). It owns 65% while AME owns the remaining 35%. Its first acquisition was 50,1% of Clear Channel Merafe, an out-of-home advertising company, in April this year.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 26 September 2007)

Liberia: LMC/RNTC Launches Radio Project

The Liberia Media Center last Thursday officially launched a broadcast training facility and a community radio support project in partnership with the Radio Netherlands Training Center. The community radio project known as the Initiative for Mobile Training of Community Radio (INFORMOTRAC) is a four-year support program geared towards building the capacities of community radio stations across the country starting this September.

According to a LMC release issued in Monrovia, the INFORMOTRAC project is being implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism with funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Information Minister, Dr. Laurence Bropleh will dedicate the new center located in Jallah Town, Sinkor. The ceremony attracted an array of dignitaries including government officials, foreign ambassadors, international development partners and members of the media community.

In its initial phase, the INFORMOTRAC project will provide six stations in Nimba, Margibi and Lofa with broadcast and studio equipment; and routine training and technical support. The six beneficiary stations include Radio Nimba, Radio Kergheamahn, Radio Voice of Tappitta, Radio Kakata, Radio Peace and Radio Life. Later in 2007, LMC and RNTC will select a new batch of partner stations.

In a related development, the Liberia Media Center has released its annual anniversary statement on the state of the media in Liberia to mark two years of its existence. The Center called for more local donor support and firm national commitment to promoting media development activities in the country. LMC stressed that the media as a legitimate sector needs to be treated as a development agenda for inclusion in the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS).

(The Analyst (Monrovia), 25 September 2007)

More

Regulation & policy

Somalia: Police Fire On Radio Shabelle, Force Station Off the Air

CPJ condemns the attack by Somali security forces on the Radio Shabelle compound this morning. Forces opened fire on the building with staff inside, forcing the station off the air. According to local journalists, police fired repeatedly from 10 a.m. to noon at the doors and windows of the compound while staff took cover. No casualties were reported and most staff members managed to escape during a brief respite in the shooting, said the journalists.

The violence began when unknown insurgents set off a bomb near the Shabelle compound in the highly volatile Bakara Market region at around 10 a.m. The police responded by firing indiscriminately at the Shabelle building, believing the insurgents were inside, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists. However, local journalists suspect the police also targeted the station specifically. Shabelle, among other local radio stations, has been critical of both the government and militias in its reporting on the nine-month long insurgency in Mogadishu.

"We're outraged by this brazen attack on Radio Shabelle, which has been subjected to an appalling campaign of persecution," said Joel Simon, CPJ's executive director. "The transitional government must immediately withdraw the security forces and provide effective protection in the Bakara Market." Radio Shabelle announced the station would close down this evening and remain off the air until security improved, the union reported.

The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia repositioned hundreds of troops into the Bakara Market this morning after removing them last week. The troops were temporarily withdrawn from the area after local residents and businesses demonstrated against their presence, reported the union and Shabelle Net, a daily Web site run by the same company that owns the radio station.

Only four days ago, police raided Radio Shabelle and detained 19 staff members, accusing them of throwing a grenade at a police squad. Last Wednesday, Somali soldiers arrested 70 civilians in Bakara Market, including Puntlandpost correspondent Mohamed Hussein Jimaale, according to the union.

(Committee to Protect Journalists (New York), 19 September 2007)

Burkina Faso: Arson Attack On Radio Host's Car Marks Escalation in Intimidation Campaign

Reporters Without Borders last week condemned a campaign of death threats against singer and radio host Karim Sama, which took a disturbing new turn with an arson attack on his car on 28 September in Ouagadougou. Also known as "SAM'S K Le Jah," Sama hosts a successful programme on privately-owned Ouaga FM in which he often criticises President Blaise Compaoré. The programme is popular outside of Boukina Faso as well.

"This campaign to intimidate a committed performer was already outrageous, but it has become much more alarming now that the fanatics threatening him have moved from words to actions," the press freedom organisation said. "It is time the authorities took this seriously, and identified and punished those responsible for this disgraceful behaviour."

Sama was presenting his weekly "Roots Rock Reggae" programme on the evening of 28 September when the radio station's guard came and told him his car was on fire. Sama rushed to the station's car park and found the rear seat of the car already ablaze and the flames beginning to spread to the rest of the vehicle.

Sama has been receiving threatening email messages since April. The first one, on 18 April, told him to stop saying "nonsense on radio Ouaga FM" and warned him he would die soon. Likening President Compaoré to a "divine blessing," it called on Sama to stop criticising the president's "development initiatives" in his programmes.

Sama immediately reported the threatening email to the police in the hope that they could establish who sent it. But no action was taken. Although it said he should "not mention this message on the air on Ouaga FM," Sama told the press and received the support of journalists' organisations. The threatening messages continued until the arson attack, about which he also filed a complaint.

Technology & convergence

Africa: A first taste of Multichoice’s DVB-H service

Multichoice is currently trialing their Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld (DVB-H) service in Soweto, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. This service is delivered over Multichoice’s own 800 MHz trial network, and the company has partnered with Vodacom, MTN and Cell C to ensure smooth service delivery and that SIM cards are compatible.

DVB-H differs from 3G mobile technology in that 3G is a point-to-point technology and as a result is subject to bandwidth and quality limitations. DVB-H on the other hand is a true broadcast technology, and a point-to-multipoint technology therefore it does not suffer the same limitations as 3G with multimedia.

Most of the content which is delivered on the new DVB-H platform is syndicated with a strict requirement that encryption is part and parcel of the service. This in turn requires conditional access which is why Vodacom, MTN and Cell C are important players in Multichoice’s mobile TV plans.

The DSTV provider further envisages that consumers will purchase this new service – and be billed for it - through their cellular company rather than Multichoice since it makes sense that it will be bundled with other mobile services like voice or data.

Multichoice’s Linda Vermaas, CEO of DSTV Mobile, says that the company is confident that the service will enjoy great uptake after launch. The DVB-H product will be a commercial business in its own right, looking for high volumes at low rates. While current pricing models and content are still under development, Vermaas said that it will definitely be a sub-R 100 service.

For Multichoice to officially launch this service the company will need spectrum from ICASA, something that is currently the main obstacle. Applications for spectrum are not open yet, but the company is confident that they will be successful when the date arrives considering the progress they have already made.

Another possible hurdle comes with the Minister’s recently released policy directives where ICASA is directed to consider allocating spectrum to a single network with possibility of national coverage for the provision of Mobile Broadcasting Services. This is something which Vermaas feels is not the best solution, but as this is currently only a consideration she is optimistic that things may change.

While a lot must happen before the service will be launched commercially, it is already up and running and we had a chance to test it for ourselves. The following channels are part of the current DSTV Mobile trial: SuperSport 1, SuperSport 2, SuperSport 3, SuperSport Update, SABC 1, Big Brother Africa, E! Entertainment, Cartoon Network, Channel O and CNN.

The service is very easy to use, but this may depend on the mobile handset. For this trial Multichoice selected the Samsung P910, which has a direct TV button that makes accessing the service seamless. The process is as easy as pressing the TV button and selecting a channel.

Once connected, the streaming of content is very smooth – as can be expected from a broadcasting service – and the visuals and sound quality are excellent. You can clearly read the small scrolling text appearing on news sites like CNN (which is surprising considering the size of the screen) and the sound quality is superb. The resolution is currently 320 x 240 pixels, high enough to satisfy most mobile TV users.

A lot of the content is currently not optimized for small mobile screens, and this can be somewhat disappointing when watching sport. Most of the time the shots are however of such a nature that it is easy to follow the game.

The lack of ‘made for mobile’ content does however not distract much from the enjoyment of being able to watch the game or the latest news wherever you are, and one can expect many rugby and cricket fanatics to watch a full game of rugby on their mobiles while at the office.

A question which may be on many people’s minds sitting in peak traffic every day – can you use it while moving at moderate speeds. Our testing shows that the service may have short intermittent breaks while driving at higher speeds, but it is definitely still very usable.

All in all it is definitely a worthwhile service, and depending on the price, it will most likely attract many takers when it is launched commercially. South Africa has become a ‘cellular nation’, and this value-added service is of a high quality which should ensure its success.

(MyBroadband.com, 26th September 2007)

Kenya: Retail TV That Could Edge Out Billboards

Digital Signage - you've seen it already working in some supermarkets in the city. This is an emerging technology that has already caught on in the rest of the world and is changing the way business is being conducted- whether in offices, schools or even in retail outlets. This is the world of audio-visual digital signage advertising enabled by an info-channel broadcast.

The advertising technology has many names. These include Retail TV, Electronic Billboards, Dynamic Digital Signs, Narrow casting, Data casting, Electronic Display Networks, Digital In-Store Merchandising, Out-of-Home Media Networks, Employee TV, Captive Audience Networks, or even Digital Media Networks.

Through the technology, businesses are able to install channels of digital signage displays that deliver specific departmental advertising focused on the customer at the critical mile of decision making. In supermarkets, at the crucial point-of-purchase.

At Nakumatt, all the TV channels are controlled from a central location, inside a tiny room at the Prestige Plaza. Ad content is programmed to reflect the changes necessary to meet the demands of weekly, daily or even hourly sales campaigns. This is according to clients orders.

The different channels broadcasting in the different branches of the supermarket in the city are also integrated into the store's pricing database, to update pricing in real-time. Internationally, advertising gurus see this way of advertising as a big threat to still billboards that have recently taken a good slice of advertising budgets, especially within cities and public places. Unlike billboards that are mostly lifeless, the digital signage software brings digital signs to life.

This is through sight, motion and sound; three important elements that engage the buyer's sense and which could be used to sway the decision making process in favour of the product on display. According to Scala, who are the software providers, the first retail establishments to recognise the benefits of digital signage were grocery stores.

Since then, large mega-marts like Tesco in the UK and Norges Gruppen in Norway have embraced the technology and have now installed thousands of screens in their stores. The recognised benefit of digital signage is the ability to focus their advertising on the customer in the store.

"Integrated into the digital signage is a network facilitating the display of a focused brand message to the customer at the time when buying decisions are made," says Mr Jinal Savla of Ideas Unlimited, which has been licensed to sell the software locally. "This is a technology that activates customers to buy what you have on the shelves. This is a chance for advertisers to influence buying decisions where it matters most"

Besides supermarkets, the software can also be used by companies. In this case, the administration can create announcements and broadcast them to employees. Hospitals and even schools could also use the technology. But in the case of companies and even schools, the technology it has its limitations as it takes away a bit of the human face through distance.

After having been around the country for three months, the software has attracted a lot of interest from Kenyan advertisers. But it is yet to attract buyers. According to Jinal, the need for this technology was long overdue in their business.

Before the company acquired the technology, it was still in supermarket advertising. Then, the company would burn several DVDs, which they kept changing. This was cumbersome and when a suggestion about the software came through, the Sh138,000 investment on the software that was required did not deter Unlimited Ideas.

So far, the company has 15 clients and charges a monthly advertising fee calculated per run: each run is charged at Sh100 per run with the company only taking a minimum of 20 runs in a day and minimum of four months contract. As the supermarkets grew, he also expanded his mind. This is after he learnt about Scala, the Netherlands's company that distributes the software worldwide.

(Business Daily (Nairobi), 18 September 2007)

Uganda: Ugandan Radio on Internet

JumpTV Inc., a leader in broadcasting international television and sports programming over the Internet has began streaming Uganda’s top 5 radio stations live via www.JumpTV.com. The five stations form part of the Ugandan package available for purchase on the company?s website (www.jumptv.com) for US$12.95 per month; however the package will be free of charge for 30 days as part of a special promotion. A press statement issued by JumpTV said Sharon Masinda lives in Brixton, England working as a nurse in the National Health Service. She looks forward to coming home from work everyday at exactly 6:00 p.m. to catch the radio news live from Uganda on www.jumptv.com.

The radio stations include Simba FM, KFM, Hot 100, Beat FM and Capital FM.

JumpTV’s live television channels are also available in the package, including Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), Wavah Broadcasting Services (WBS TV) and most recently Record TV.

Subscribers can pay for the packages using an international credit card. Douglas Ames, the general manager of Africa at JumpTV.com said, ?the addition of Uganda?s top radio stations to compliment our existing television content from Uganda brings us closer to our goal of creating the most compelling content experience for our customers?.

The inclusion of the five radio stations marks an important stage in the development of the Ugandan media sector as the press, radio and television companies now have some medium of distribution for their content over the Internet breaking the distance barrier.

JumpTV streams over 31 television and radio stations from Africa namely from Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Benin, Ghana and many others around the continent. JumpTV is a distributor of live international television and sports over the Internet.

With more than 300 television channels from 75 countries and more than 170 partnerships with sports teams and leagues. JumpTV also delivers full-screen sports, news and entertainment content on a real-time basis from all corners of the globe to computers, Internet-enabled television sets, IP set-top-boxes and cell phones with browser access.

(Highway Africa News Agency (Grahamstown), 28 September 2007)

Events

Events

Africa: Africa is on the verge of multimedia explosion

The African continent is often left in the dark on essential and innovative technological experiences. But it is hard to deny that the immense potential of the continent lies in its ability and desire to vastly improve its methods of communication.

Despite the fact that Africa's online population has been severely constricted by the lack of broadband, there is no doubt in any media or technology pundit’s view that online connectivity and usage, whether through a computer or mobile phone, will explode once we get high-speed broadband internet access.

More broadband connectivity options are becoming available locally, with many providers offering a choice of fixed line, wireless and mobile data connectivity services. And all of this will aid the development, and growth of multimedia applications.

Multimedia World Africa will be the first conference in Africa exploring the future of multimedia in Africa. The conference, taking place on 7 & 8 November 2007 at The Michaelangelo Hotel in Johannesburg, will see experts in the industry come together to discuss issues such as bandwidth, the various applications for multimedia, IMS technology, mobile content and regulatory challenges facing Africa for 2010.

Honourable Minister Alintuma Nsambu, Minister of State ICT in Uganda will share his opinion on Africa’s need for improved communications, understanding Africa’s communication situation and he will explore possible strategies that could rectify the current dilemma.

Peter Alubale, Senior Deputy Secretary from the Ministry of Information and Communications in Kenya will share with delegates how Africa can bridge the digital divide as well as share which technologies have come into their own in Africa. The regulatory challenges for Africa for 2010 will be examined by the Chairperson of ICASA, Paris Mashile, to ensure Africa is as prepared as she can be for the World Cup.

Other events of note:

§ “Zimbabwe Revealed”: documentary film screening – 22nd October, 6.30pm, LSE, London

§ Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) media awards – 22nd September (Uganda)

§ 11th annual Highway Africa Conference in Grahamstown, SA

§ Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) media awards (May 2008, Lusaka, Zambia)

People

People

Botswana: Sekgororoane Ditches GTV for Multichoice?

Even before moving to second gear, Botswana's new pay TV has suffered a setback with the news that its founding general manager Billy Sekgororoane has quit. Sekgororoane told Mmegi yesterday that he is no longer with the recently launched GTV and he is negotiating with a potential employer.

There are reports that he has been snapped by GTV's rivals Multichoice Botswana. He declined to confirm the reports. Sekgororoane is a former general manager of Multichoice Botswana.

"I can only say that I am negotiating with some people. Details of who those people are will be announced in due course. I cannot talk on behalf of GTV. I expect them to issue a press release," he said. He declined to reveal why he has chosen to leave GTV so early. The new pay TV has been hailed as a saviour after it came with a menu containing more English Premier League soccer at a time when Multichoice had a limited supply. GTV upstaged Multichoice when it won the main rights to show English Premier League soccer in Africa for the next three years. GTV public relations consultant in Botswana Kabelo Binns confirmed that Sekgororoane is no longer with the company and he does not know where he is. "I am unable to contact him," Binns said. He declined further questions and referred Mmegi to GTV office in London.

Rumours of Sekgororoane leaving GTV have been flying even before last month's launch. It is widely believed that Multichoice Botswana has decided to snap Sekgororoane to deal a blow to GTV. Multichoice Botswana is said to be eager to replace their Peter Fauel with Sekgororoane who in the past has played a big part in growing the pay television business in Botswana before he was transferred to Ghana. Efforts to solicit a comment from Multichoice Botswana spokesperson Tshepo Maphanyane proved futile as she was said to be out of the office.

(Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), 14 September 2007)

Botswana: GTV Appoints New GM

GTV is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Essig to the post of General Manager (GM) to lead the company's rapid rollout across Botswana. Mike brings 8 years of retail management, sales, marketing and distribution expertise to the post, as well as a proven track record in business innovation.

Botswana-born Essig's managerial acumen has been honed across a range of leading FMCG retail and distribution businesses including METSEF Trade Centre Group, Fine Wine Botswana and Dafin Sales & Distribution. Mike Essig's appointment was made effective 1st September.

(Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), 18 September 2007)

South Africa: Live blogging from MIPCOM 07

Stanley Edwards, director of Platypus Production, will once again be heading across the water to attend three events on which he will be reporting daily on Bizcommunity.com's blog.

His first stop will be in London where he will be attending the MediaGuardian Changing Advertising Summit and MoCollywood. Next stop, Cannes France for MIPCOM 2007.

MoCollywood is a two-day celebration of the business of mobile content. Approximately 200 operators, content owners and technology providers are gathering together 2 - 3 October to do business, be inspired, and to learn.

The one-day MediaGuardian Changing Advertising Summit on Thursday, 4 October brings together thought-leaders and decision-makers from the biggest clients, agencies, media owners and solution-providers to examine the challenges of modern advertising and how to engage with consumers in the digital age. They will debate and outline the essential strategies for commercial success in modern advertising. MIPCOM is a global content event, with Edwards' focus being on new media, marketing and advertising trends.

As not all of us are able to make these trips, Edwards will be your eyes and ears, keeping you up-to-date on all the exciting happenings with a daily posting on http://blog.bizcommunity.com and www.platypusblog.com. Reports will start on Wednesday 3 October, so be sure to check in daily!

As well as the daily blogs and reports, Platypus Productions will be hosting two feedback seminars entitled Reshaping Media. These will take place on 7 November 2007 in Cape Town and 22 November in Johannesburg.

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