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Africa’s digital switchover – nothing much happening except a handful of pioneers

Africa’s television broadcasters are supposed to be making the switchover to digital broadcasting by 2015. Eight years to go sounds like a long time but even some developed nations are taking 10 years to make the switch. South Africa has set itself an eye-wateringly short timetable of three years and started the process this month. It is among a handful of African pioneers who have even begun to think about the issue. The vast majority of African countries have not even started writing plans for how they will tackle the issue, let alone scheduled a deliverable timetable. Unsurprisingly, the private sector has already started the process in two countries. The transition offers significant advantages if it is got right but the costs will be considerable, both for the Government and its state broadcast organization and for consumers who will need to buy new set-top boxes or televisions. The digital transition is also probably the precursor to a wider shift to High-Definition TV. The transition raises key competition issues in terms of how the digital set-top boxes are commissioned. Russell Southwood looks at what’s happening and who has actually done any work on the issue.

In issue 17

Content

Morocco: Moroccan movies to be screened in 'CinemaEast2007' Festival

Africa: Moving Into A Magic World

Nigeria: Studio 53 Visits Country, Three Other Countries

Mauritius: State broadcaster launches new local series to mixed reviews

Broadcast

South Africa: Naspers braces for pay-TV challenge

Somalia: Radio Station Returns to Air in Central Somalia, Mayor Criticizes Governor

Ethiopia: Amhara Regional Gov't to Launch TV Station

South Africa: Changes at Ligwalagwala FM

Distribution

South Africa: MTN Gets Exclusive Right to Downloads of Kwaito Singer but Vodacom offers more

East Africa: Cecafa Gets a Boost From GTV

Investment

South Africa: Lottery still owes Sithengi R1.9 million

South Africa: Thumbs Up for Johncom's Naspers Deal

More

Regulation & policy

Technology & convergence

Events

People

Opportunities

Top story

Africa’s digital switchover – nothing much happening except a handful of pioneers

Africa’s television broadcasters are supposed to be making the switchover to digital broadcasting by 2015. Eight years to go sounds like a long time but even some developed nations are taking 10 years to make the switch. South Africa has set itself an eye-wateringly short timetable of three years and started the process this month. It is among a handful of African pioneers who have even begun to think about the issue. The vast majority of African countries have not even started writing plans for how they will tackle the issue, let alone scheduled a deliverable timetable. Unsurprisingly, the private sector has already started the process in two countries. The transition offers significant advantages if it is got right but the costs will be considerable, both for the Government and its state broadcast organization and for consumers who will need to buy new set-top boxes or televisions. The digital transition is also probably the precursor to a wider shift to High-Definition TV. The transition raises key competition issues in terms of how the digital set-top boxes are commissioned. Russell Southwood looks at what’s happening and who has actually done any work on the issue.

With the World Cup due to arrive in 2010, the South African Government is clearly seeking to use the event as a springboard to update its broadcasting services. According to Lara Kantor, SABC’s General Manager, Policy and Regulatory Affairs who spoke at the Media and Broadcasting Congress in Johannesburg at the beginning of this month, the advantages offered by the transition were:

- There will be more TV channels (using less spectrum) and interactive services can be put in place. This has to be advantageous in those countries where there are two or more large language groups.

- Control of the signal through a Set Top Box means that all broadcasters can control their licence or subscription income more easily. If a person does not pay, the signal can, in theory, be switched off. (Tell that to the 300,000 or so pirate viewers in Nigeria.)

- Government gets a spectrum dividend because Digitial Terrestrial Television (DTT for acronym collectors) is more efficient in its use of the spectrum. Once the transition is completed, there will be spectrum that has been freed up that can be sold for other uses.

However, the factors weighing against a successful transition are considerable in the African context. This doesn’t mean the transition should not be done: it would be hard to avoid it if the rest of the world completes the transition. But African countries will need to complete a process that is causing some challenges even in developed countries. The factors against are:

- It requires equipment upgrade of broadcast distribution infrastructure, transmitters, compression technology and set-top boxes. It requires broadcasters to digitalise their production processes (including studios) and key parts of their archive. The more sophisticated may want to consider provisioning for a converged world where things mobile TV and the Internet play a part. The regular tussles between Government and the State-owned broadcaster just to keep them at a level of minimal operation indicates that this scale of upgrade is simply outside of the thinking of many policy-makers outside of Africa’s pioneer countries.

- Mobile phones were easy-peasy alongside the complexity of both installing and operating most set-top boxes. How will African broadcasters put in place the delivery mechanisms to ensure that its viewers don’t simply give up?

- Television viewing in Africa is still largely an urban phenomenon and usage levels are usually much lower than for radio. A multi-channel environment will fragment the viewing landscape. The challenge for broadcasters will then be to produce programmes that deliver enough of a “critical mass” of an audience to attract advertisers. Although inertia in viewing habits favours the current Free-To-Air broadcasters, a combination of Pay-TV competition and multi-channels from all broadcasters may take as much as 25% of the mainstream TV audiences away from mass audience programming. Crucially, it will be the younger viewers who will probably desert first. It goes without saying that a multi-channel environment requires resourcing. This can only come from three sources: increased Government subsidy; the viewer (either through licence fees or Pay-TV subscription); or advertising. Discuss.

- Analog signals degrade at the edge of coverage but you still get some form of picture, even if it’s like watching through a snow-storm. However, with DTT, poor signal at the edge of coverage areas will mean no picture rather than the current limited picture.

The biggest issue is what form of Set Top Box will be on offer and how much it will cost. South Africa has approximately 7.5 million households with TVs. Over three years, each and every one of them will need to either buy a new digital television or a Set Top Box. In theory, this means that 2.5 million set top-boxes will be sold each year over the three year transition. However, since the process is already behind, the number needing to be sold escalates. And not only do these set-top boxes have to be sold, they have to be manufactured first.

The key issue in the transition is the cost of the Set Top Boxes to users. Wealthier users may be able to afford the new generation of digital televisions but these remain high cost even in developed country markets. Kantor told the Media and Broadcasting Congress that it was estimated that the set-top box would cost R500 (US$73.82). Although relatively cheap as they will be ordered in some considerable quantities, this is still a large amount of money for those on low-incomes. Therefore as in developed countries, the South African Government is talking of subsidizing those on low-incomes to make the transition. However, a subsidy scheme on this scale is an absolute invitation to corruption in a number of African countries.

With decisions needing to be taken by both State and private broadcasters and for them to agree on key issues, things will not be easy. There is an issue as to whether the Set Top Box should have “conditional access” (the ability to control whether a signal is delivered) or be conditional access ready. Pay-TV operators who have already rolled out their own proprietary Set Top Boxes are not keen to see these replaced with one that can receive anyone else’s signals. Proprietary Set Top Boxes offer a good level of “lock-in” when competing on content fails.

But in competition terms, this ability to switch providers without requiring to pay for new equipment is crucial. Imagine the outcry if you had to pay US$75 every time you changed Internet service providers because you needed a new proprietary modem. And this is only one of several knotty issues with competition implications. Where you are in the Electronic Programme Guide will probably dictate “default viewing”: the nearer the top, the easier you are to access. There are also similar issues that will need to be resolved with middleware and multiplexes.

Outside of South Africa, those preparing for the digital transition are few in number. From our research, these would seem to include: Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda. The francophone members of UMOA have a sub-committee that have identified the issue as important but it appears to have little impact on national policy. From the private sector, Multichoice went DTT in Namibia in 2005 and another Pay-TV operator launched a service in Mauritius in 2006.

In Kenya a Task Force was set up in March 2007 to look at the implications of the transition and its report was published in July 2007. It said that the existing broadcasters could set up their own independent signal company and that the transition should take place through one of two options: either a policy-driven approach or a switch-over taking place over three years. No policy option has yet been chosen and the deadline for the start of the process has not been set.

Tanzania issued its “Consultation Document on switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting in Tanzania” in August 2005. This promised that the regulator would start the planning process in mid-2006. The consultation document envisaged the switchover starting in 2006 and concluding in 2013. A second consultation document was issued a year later which recommended the setting up of three multiplex operators; two commercial and one public. It also recommended what it described as a “managed market take-up”, starting with the gradual roll-out of digital infrastructure in 2007/2008. We await with interest to see whether the start of the process will meet this deadline.

In Rwanda, the Government has said that it will stop issuing licences to investors intending to broadcast using analog. Director General Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (Rura) Diogene Mudenge said the country is in transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting. "By 2015 we have to be digital".

Beyond this handful of pioneers, there is only silence. Occasionally a national broadcaster or policy-maker gets up and makes a speech saying how important the issue is but there appears to be no substantive public discussion of how Africa will get “from here to there”. If this continues, this will be Africa’s loss as the whole process might help regenerate public broadcasting and offer the chance to get television out to a wide group of viewers.

Content

Morocco: Moroccan movies to be screened in 'CinemaEast2007' Festival

Two Moroccan films "What a Wonderful World" by Faouzi Bensaidi and "Casa" by Ali Benkirane were shown in CinemaEast Film Festival 2007, slated for November 8 -15 in New York.

"In a time of increased turmoil and misunderstanding about these regions, the 2007 CinemaEast Festival is more timely than ever" to "break stereotypes and misconceptions", said ArteEast representatives, adding that "selected films will provide rare opportunities for dialogue with filmmakers, actors and artists and building bridges through culture and art."

The festival program illustrates emerging and independent filmmakers, and shows 12 features, 22 long and short documentaries, and 18 short films representing15 countries from the Middle East and North Africa.

In addition to films screening, the festival, which is held every two years, featured panel discussions, workshops and round tables in which New York and Columbia universities as well as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council took part.

Africa: Moving Into A Magic World

M-Net has added another feather to its cap with the introduction of a new channel on the DStv bouquet: Magic World. Featuring an array of wide-reaching watching, Magic World's line-up includes original productions, African film fare, essential sport, classic series repeats and real-time link-ups to some of M-Net's other funky brands - notably those where hot music and hip interactivity are on the menu.

Magic World resides at DStv channel 144 from mid-October 2007 and breaks each day with original and African music selections fed directly from Channel O. The rest of each week day's viewing is a riveting mix of African documentary series (including the still-going-strong Studio 53), repeats of great game shows and reality series like Temptation, Idols West Africa, Deal Or No Deal and Survivor SA: Panama, and documentaries focusing on issues relevant to the African continent.

The eclectic line-up continues with something for the kids as Magic World taps into kTV's array of terrific 'toons and teenage series, as well as GO's groovy schedule (including the live airing of innovative SMS-2-TV show, GoChat). Over the weekend this youth-oriented viewing is maximized with the inclusion of of kTV's Power Edition and popular GO programming like GoZone.TV.

In addition to this winning watching, Magic World will be one of the first channels in Africa to air telenovelas, which have become all the rage internationally since breaking in Latin America a few years back. Telenovelas are high on melodrama - essentially soap operas in miniseries format - and they've been touted as popular TV's future.

Nigeria: Studio 53 Visits Country, Three Other Countries

DStv audiences in Nigeria, Ethiopia , Benin and South Africa will this week have an exciting time as M-Net's Studio 53 makes stopovers at these destinations during the latest episode of the lifestyle program!

Studio 53's first stop will be Nigeria where the Onitsha people marked the new yam festival (Ofala) in October with great revelry. IK joined the celebrations where the colourful ceremony saw lots of dignitaries in attendance and like every year locals gathered to pay homage to their King.

Studio 53 will then head to Ethiopia where Fareed savours the enchanting décor at the St George Art Gallery in Addis Abba. While there, he will meet with celebrated hand carved furniture designer, Saba Alene who in recognition of her innovative design and promotion of Ethiopian culture received the prestigious World Intellectual Property Organisation's award for inventive design in 2005.

Then, it will be the turn of Benin where Studio 53 highlights some of the attractions this beautiful country has to offer. Situated on the Gulf of Guinea, between Togo on the west and Nigeria on the east, this West African country has a rich cultural heritage and varied scenery making it an attractive but relatively unknown tourist destination before leading to South Africa where Rosi attends the Albert Luthuli Musical in Durban.

The life and achievements of Chief Albert Luthuli, a forefather of South Africa's liberation struggle was celebrated with a vibrant musical production even as the DSTv audience have been urged to join Studio 53 as they bring this inspired performance to them.

(Leadership (Abuja), 7 November 2007)

Mauritius: State broadcaster launches new local series to mixed reviews

L’Express’s Surendra Bissoondoyal gives a sarcastic and critical welcome to Mauritius’ latest local series while pointing out that the state-run broadcaster does not have enough money to screen live football matches.

Our preferred television channel -- you know which one, although it is not by choice -- cannot afford to broadcast football matches live, nor serials like 'Desperate housewives' before the end is known to everybody. But it has the resources -- financial, technical and human - to start a new local serial, with no end in view, to show to the public that 'tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles'. But the public has already given a title to the serial: 'Desperate ministers'.

The first episode of the serial relates to post-election euphoria in a country where everything will be free and people will not need to work.There will be only an elite who will look down on work for which they had not been prepared, except the elite minister who will be seen trying to prop up Vallee des Pretres to prevent an avalanche (or rather a mud slide) coming down and engulfing him. Low status and low paid work will be done by foreign workers. But soon disillusion sets in and infighting takes over. We see ministers flying away to avoid facing an angry public. They want an escape from the real world -- a bit like Indian films which make the poor escape from their daily drudgery by taking them into the unreal world of song and dance.

But their Chief does not like that. He does not trust them particularly when they have had a few drinks too many. He does not want them to attend even functions organized by socio-cultural organizations in case they use their proximity to their 'banne' to sow the seeds of division and mistrust. Maybe he is right. Many of these organizations exist only to promote the ambitions and interests of their self-appointed leaders.

We hear about anti-corruption bodies on the verge of catching presumed culprits, but later when the interest dies down the serial takes us to another diversion. We see civil servants helping their children to help themselves to houses meant for .. well, the homeless of course, with ministers knowing about it but reluctant to intervene for reasons best known to themselves. We see ministers hijacking press conferences and being very loquacious to announce price reductions -- a very rare event -- and being conspicuously absent and silent when there are price increases, which are more frequent. Unlike Midas, who had the gift of turning into gold everything that he touched, we see instead basic commodities disappear or become out of reach when ministers want to show of what mettle they are made. Touch iron bars and they disappear from the market. Touch milk and if it does not disappear altogether, it will be rationed with each customer allowed to buy only one packet before it disappears again. Now you see it, now you don't. Anxious to please a discontented public ministers heave a sigh of relief when a semblance of 'gros pois' is imported from China.

Each episode of the serial is broadcast live by our preferred television channel during prime time, and repeated ad nauseum so that it gets stuck in the minds of the volatile viewers, or in case some viewers had missed it. Other television channels which are interested in broadcasting 'Reality shows' are not allowed. Fiction is and should be seen to be more important than reality. Our financial wizard has (temporarily?) disappeared from the show, after he said that, if he were given eight more years, he would make poverty disappear in Mauritius. Eight years? The poor who are becoming poorer and seeing the rich become richer will have to wait for eight years to come out of the new state of pauperism! They would rather wish that he disappears from his ministerial berth in eight days.

But the serial -- to the utter embarrassment of the TV channel and of its producer -- will not take long to unravel. The public, a very caring public, will deliver the ministers from their daily miseries and desperation by giving them back their freedom. The discerning public is desperate and is praying for the ongoing serial, which has become stale, to come to a quick end. Their prayer has been heard and their wish will be fulfilled. A new serial is in the offing

Content Briefs:

- "The television station Walf Tv has decided to withdraw the image of the Head of State of generic emission satirical Xumb tee Dagane. This decision was taken last week, as the CEO of the group, Sidy Lamine Niasse, after the legal clarifications made by the National Council for regulating audiovisual (Cnra). The legal arguments, a press release stressed, were made by the Cnra in a letter dated 05 November 2007 and addressed to the CEOs of the group Wal Fadjri. According to Sidy Lamine Niasse, the decision to withdraw the image of the head of state reflected the disposal of the group Wal Fadjri to take all the calls and suggestions received from its faithful listeners and viewers, in addition to the conciliatory exit of the Minister of Information, Bacar Dia .

- MultiChoice Africa has announced plans to add five new channels to its DStv bouquet. The channels are offered at no extra costs to DStv subscribers, and include a newly created movie channel, M-NET Stars; a glossy general entertainment channel, Sony Entertainment TV; an animated channel, ANIMAX; One Gospel channel, and a lifestyle and fashion channel, The Style Network. All five channels will be available to DStv Premium subscribers in southern Africa, and the gospel and lifestyle channels will be on offer to DStv Compact subscribers. The gospel channel will also be available in the DStv family package.

- Southern Africa Direct, a new free-to-air lifestyle and culture television channel, today announces that it will go on-air on the Sky digital broadcast platform on November 26th 2007. This new channel is the UK’s first ‘Destination TV’ channel, providing an authentic and engaging information source for anyone interested in visiting or building commercial links with Southern Africa. Southern Africa Direct is a free-to-air lifestyle and culture TV channel available on the Sky Digital platform and online. It is the UK’s first ‘Destination TV’ channel, providing an authentic and engaging information source for anyone interested in visiting or building commercial links with Southern Africa. For more information please visit www.southernafricadirect.com

Broadcast

South Africa: Naspers braces for pay-TV challenge

South Africa's pay-TV and publishing group Naspers has re-launched a lower tier pay-TV package to counter the impending challenge of market competition in the form of four new operators. Last month the country's communications authority granted pay-TV licences to fixed-line operator Telkom's media unit, leisure and media group Hosken Consolidated Investments and two smaller operators -- On Digital Media and Walking on Water -- ending Naspers' decade old monopoly.

Entry of new operators is expected to stimulate the market, with more investment in pay-TV services seen. Naspers' local pay-TV operation Multichoice said its EasyView package comprises 10 video channels -- up from a previous four-- as well as five data channels and 28 radio stations.

"EasyView provides access to pay television to a wider viewership. The bouquet has been in existence for over five years. This improved bouquet is now being re-launched in line with our strategy of providing DStv to different market segments - from entry level to premium," Nolo Letele, chief executive of MultiChoice South Africa, said in a statement.

The package will cost an annual subscription fee of 210 rand or a monthly fee of 20 rand (US$2.95). MultiChoice SA -- which has about 1.4 million subscribers -- contributes approximately 76 percent to Naspers revenue. Telkom Media -- which has funding of over 7.5 billion rand over eight years -- has said it will offer cheaper packages in attempts to attract subscribers, starting at approximately 100 rand a month.

Telkom Media -- which expects to be in the market next year -- says it expects the country's subscription television market to double by 2012. Most of the budding pay-TV operators put forward a much cheaper package as key to the success of their ventures. Telkom Media spokesman Chris Van Zyl told Reuters that MultiChoice's new package was evidence of the group's shift to focus on the lower end of the market.

Somalia: Radio Station Returns to Air in Central Somalia, Mayor Criticizes Governor

An independent radio station in central Somalia returned to air Sunday after Ethiopian troops forced radio employees to shut down operations last week, sources said. Al-Hikma Radio in the central Somali town of Galdogob, in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, returned to air after local elders negotiated with Ethiopian commanders, a radio employee said.

An Ethiopian army unit crossed the border last week and headed directly for the headquarters of al-Hikma, a two-week old radio station focused on Islamic programming. Abdullahi Yusuf Haji, the mayor of Galdogob, blamed Mudug Governor Abdirashid Ali Dhubane, saying he is "opposed to progress in Galdogob" and "spreads lies about the city," the mayor told local media.

Galdogob Mayor Haji is in the Puntland administrative capital, Garowe, where he is holding talks with senior government officials regarding the situation in Mudug region. Elders in Galdogob confirmed to Garowe Online that they sent a delegation to neighboring Ethiopia to seek the two instructors' release. The talks are "going well," according to one elder.

(Garowe Online, 4 November 2007)

Ethiopia: Amhara Regional Gov't to Launch TV Station

The Amhara regional government will next year launch regional TV and radio broadcasts, according to the Amhara Mass Media Agency. The project incorporates TV and radio stations as well as a print media, for which four five-storey buildings will be constructed. The project, expected to cost 100 million birr (US$11 million), will be fully financed by the regional government.

The construction of the buildings will commence next month on a 10,000 sq.m. plot of land the agency secured from the regional investment bureau. The construction of the buildings is projected to be completed during the current fiscal year, and the TV and radio stations are expected to start broadcasting late next year, according to the agency. The region's impending TV broadcast will be transmitted to ten selected towns, including Addis Ababa. The TV transmission is planned to cover the whole country, according to the agency. The TV station will basically employ satellite for transmission while the plan also includes transmission via fiber optics and microwaves.

(The Reporter (Addis Ababa), 10 November 2007)

South Africa: Changes at Ligwalagwala FM

Mpumalanga-based Ligwalagwala FM has been hard at work improving on its image and brand offering, as well as launching into Gauteng, where there has been a demand for the siSwati broadcasting station. It has also recently strengthened its team by including former SABC1 continuity presenter turned businesswoman Kedibone Mkhabela and DJ Sdukero, famous for the hit single 'mine beng dzakiwe'.

"Ligwalagwala has gone big this year, with Successful Radio Audience Measurement Survey (RAMS) results; for the first time in the history of the station we have managed to secure a position in the top ten of radio stations in the country. We were successful in our application for a licence to have a broadcast signal in Gauteng and we [are] now working on having a team based in Aukland Park," says Mfundo Ntsibande, marketing manager for Ligwalagwala FM.

Mkhabela will be a roving reporter, reporting on the breakfast and afternoon drive shows and informing listeners with news in the fashion, music, television and arts and culture. DJ Sdukero will be a resident DJ, hosting 'power play with Buhle D' on Saturdays, 6pm - 9pm.

Nkabinde adds that Ligwalagwala is not threatened by the new radio station MPower, which will be launching soon. "We have established ourselves in the market, have gained credibility and reworked on our image - our listeners are comfortable with what we are offering them."

(Biz-Community (Cape Town), 9 November 2007)

Broadcast Briefs:

- SABC board chairman Eddie Funde has called for an increase in government funding and a drastic reduction in commercial funding of the public broadcaster. “It’s very unusual for the public broadcaster to be 80 percent commercially funded,” Funde told reporters. “It is very hard for the public broadcaster to fulfil its mandate and at the same time having to go around and looking for money. We are working very hard to change that situation.” Funde said most public broadcasters worldwide relied heavily on government funding and licence fees. However, South Africa’s poverty levels make it difficult to charge high licence fees.

- The company will be offering two packages: GTV base with 12 channels and G plus package with 15 channels, both of which will offer entertainment for the whole family with sports, especially the unmissable Barclays premier league, news, movies, series music, religious and children's programming. For those who love the premier league, GTV purchased not only 80% of the rights to broadcast all the premiership matches but also all important matches. It will broadcast 8 live matches per week. The company will also be broadcasting live games and expert analysis through out the week. The GTV office in Rwanda is located at MTN center in Nyarutarama. The GTV service is provided by Gateway Broadcast services (GBS), a subsidiary of the Gateway Communications which is the leading provider of communications services to telecom operators and corporations in Africa. Broadcasts in Rwanda will begin on November 26th.

Distribution

South Africa: MTN Gets Exclusive Right to Downloads of Kwaito Singer but Vodacom offers more

Cellphone company MTN hopes to win more support from the youth market by signing a deal giving it the exclusive right to sell music downloads by kwaito singer Arthur Ma fokate. The deal, described as a "coup" by MTN portal manager Thabiet Allie, is massively eclipsed by the deal pulled off by its rival Vodacom, however, which gives Vodacom users access to a million tunes by local and international artists.

Vodacom's offering is also more economical, costing R25 a week to download a limitless number of tracks, while MTN users will pay up to R20 for an individual track by Ma fokate. The battle of the bands now playing out on cellphones is crucial because young subscribers use their handsets for innovative services, ringing up far more profit for the networks than the talk-and-text-only older users.

MTN customers will access Ma fokate's music through the MTNLoaded portal, paying R3 for a ringtone and R10 for a full track. But they will also pay for airtime used during the data download, which could inflate the bill by another R10. Allie said the MTNLoaded site, which offered news, music, games and other mobile content, was hugely successful. Downloads of local tracks accounted for 60% of all the music purchased. About 2.6-million of its 14-million subscribers in SA have registered with MTNLoaded, and last month 500,000 people downloaded some form of music.

Mofokate said he and his 999 Music record label procrastinated for two years before signing a deal to make their music available for cellphone users. He had taken time to analyse the market and to strike a good deal so the artists benefited financially when tracks were downloaded, he said.

The target market of 16- to 24-year-olds were too lazy to go to a record store, but they all had cellphones and knew how to use them, Mofokate said. The tracks will be locked by Digital Rights Management technology so tunes cannot be transferred from a phone to a computer or other device -- a tactic the music industry has introduced to maximise royalty fees.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 5 November 2007)

East Africa: Cecafa Gets a Boost From GTV

Die hard fans of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) are in for a treat following the signing of an agreement to broadcast football matches live to East African homes by GTV. Early this week, GTV signed a $6 million sponsorship agreement with the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) that gives GTV exclusive rights to broadcast all CECAFA matches. These include organized tournaments, flagship senior challenge cup and Club championship.

For starters, GTV's maiden broadcast will feature the forthcoming Senior Challenge Cup in Tanzania next month. The sponsorship comes in the wake of football clubs scrambling for space in pay television channels. For the record, CECAFA has been craving for sponsorship and the GVT one could not have come at a better time. In addition to airing CECAFA matches, GTV would also disburse money to the tune of $120,000 as an incentive to players. In this, $60,000 is the prize money. Winners would pocket $30,000, runners up $20,000 and the third placed side $10,000 respectively. The pay channel would also disburse an undisclosed amount of money that would cater for travel, accommodation and prize money to participating teams in tournaments.

CECAFA is gearing up for the 2010 World Cup just like other seasoned football clubs. Musonye told journalists that his club would take advantage of GTV broadcasts to market itself globally. He said that CECAFA would have a strong representation in the African Cup of Nations final slated for Ghana next year and the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

The Sub Saharan GTV satellite service is fiercely competing with renowned DSTV as regards airing African football matches. It can also be credited for airing this season's English Premier League live matches. In a related development, GTV signed a $5mn five-year sponsorship agreement with the Federation of Uganda Football Association in July as well. However, the Kenya Premier League has since cried foul over lack of sponsorship for its games.

(Highway Africa News Agency (Grahamstown), 12 November 2007)

Investment

South Africa: Lottery still owes Sithengi R1.9 million

With auditors wanting to dissolve the Sithengi Film and Television Market, the National Film and Video Foundation is taking legal action against the National Lottery over an installment of R1,9-million that was awarded to Sithengi in 2005, which remains unpaid. The event, held each November for the past 11 years alongside the Cape Town World Cinema Festival, hosted annually by the City of Cape Town, has been cancelled this year and its future is uncertain.

Formerly a platform for international cinematic exposure, the festival allowed participants from all stages of the film production process to network and collaborate with one another, while also allowing participants to experience films from diverse geographical locations, including Latin America, Asia and other African countries.

According to Jackie Motsepe, the head of marketing for the National Film and Video Foundation, the company would be taking legal action against the National Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund over the instalment of R1,9-million. The foundation assumed responsibility for Sithengi's affairs after Mike Auret's resignation as the chief executive of Sithengi in April. Elections for the new board will be held in Johannesburg on November 16.

South Africa: Thumbs Up for Johncom's Naspers Deal

The Competition Tribunal has unconditionally approved the sale of Johnnic Communication's (Johncom's) 38% stake in M-Net and SuperSport to Naspers, overruling objections from media company Caxton.

The tribunal unconditionally approved the merger between Naspers, M-Net and SuperSport yesterday. This will give Naspers full ownership in M-Net and SuperSport ahead of likely competition in the pay television market -- in which it is a big player through its subsidiary, MultiChoice. The deal will place 20,8-million shares in the hands of Johncom shareholders, at a present value of R4.2bn. When the deal was struck almost exactly a year ago, it cost Naspers R3.15bn.

The tribunal did not gave reasons for the decision, but these would follow shortly. The decision did, however, rebut Caxton's concerns, that control of such an asset would enable Naspers to "bundle" its advertising with print media to the detriment of other media companies. Caxton was not available for comment.

Naspers chief financial officer Steve Pacak said: "It's taken a year but we can now go ahead and complete the deal." Sources said, however, that Caxton had the right to request a review from the Competition Appeals Court and, with its permission, could ultimately fight the matter in the Supreme Court of Appeal. They said it may well exercise this right.

This would further delay the sale and also stop the next step in Johncom's plan to list its media assets in a company temporarily known as Opco, separate to a 38% Caxton stake. The sources said that if Caxton appealed, Johncom would consider listing Opco anyway -- leaving the Naspers shares alongside the Caxton stake in a separate listed entity until any appeal was resolved.

Rajay Ambekar, analyst at Cadiz African Harvest, which owns 6% of Johncom, said the company could propose such an approach as it would allow it to go forward with its original plans. It was recently announced that businessman and politician Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda Group would buy 30% of Johncom's media assets from institutional shareholder Allan Gray once Opco listed, for R1.43bn.

(Business Day (Johannesburg), 9 November 2007)

More

Regulation & policy

Somalia: Popular Radio Station Silenced, NUSOJ Strongly Protests

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is gravely concerned about the growing press freedom crisis in Somalia following shutting down of Radio Shabelle, a popular Radio Station in Mogadishu, on 12 November 2007 by the Security Forces of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.

Around 11:30am Mogadishu time, heavily armed security forces operating in Bakara Market forcefully entered the premises of the Radio Station and ordered all staff to come down from their building, according to the management of the Radio. The security forces, subsequently, commanded the Radio Director Ja'far Kuukay and head of its Programmes Abdirahman Yusuf, publicly known Al-Adala, to go with them. Although Shabelle staff were released, they were informed by the commander of the army that their station is closed, Chairperson of Shabelle Radio Abdimalik Yusuf told NUSOJ. The radio station, immediately, went off air as ordered.

The security forces of the Transitional Federal Government did not cite the reasons behind their closure. But the Radio Shabelle journalists believe that their professional and independent stance caused the closure.

"We denounce this illegal action from security forces which silenced today Radio Shabelle" said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. "We appeal to Transitional Government to allow Radio Shabelle to resume its operations because of the important community service function it performs in serving the news and information needs of the people".

Radio Shabelle and its journalists experienced gross violations of their professional freedoms and rights, according to the records of the National Union of Somali Journalists. Apart from continuous threats and terror acts against its employees, its acting Chairperson Bashir Nur Gedi was recently assassinated at his home in Mogadishu.

"Somalia became the worst country for press freedom and security of journalists in Africa and the second most dangerous place for journalists in the world after Iraq, because political groups do not like the Somali media's role of disseminating useful, impartial and objective information to the public" Omar Faruk added.

"Since this is blatant violation of international law that severely restricts the Somali people's access to information, an internationally-recognized human right, we call upon the international community to immediately intervene and end ongoing grave violations of press freedom" Omar said. "We again inform the Transitional Federal Government that it has international obligation to protect and respect journalists by allowing them to freely seek, receive, and impart information without fear of their safety'.

(National Union of Somali Journalists (Mogadishu), 12 November 2007)

Malawi: Joy TV Station Ordered to Stop Broadcasting

On 29 October 2007, the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) ordered Joy TV to immediately stop all television broadcasts until the station is issued appropriate radio and broadcasting licenses. Joy TV- a sister company to Joy Radio - has been held up in a wrangle with the country's communications regulator after it challenged the Macra Board in court, describing it as illegal.

In the latest development, Joy TV's project manager Tailosi Bakili expressed surprise over the directive, saying the television station had applied for a court injunction stopping Macra from blocking its operations.

According to Macra's letter to the station's manager, the regulator expressed concern that Joy TV was broadcasting without a license, which it said expired on 31 March 2007.

Joy Television Limited is expected to be Malawi's first private TV station. There is only one state-owned television station, Television Malawi (TVM), in existence. This development comes after Joy TV wrote the regulator on 28 August 2007 complaining that it had delayed in giving them a Studio Transmission Links (STL) Frequency, which could have allowed the station to conduct studio broadcasting.

(Media Institute of Southern Africa (Windhoek), 7 November 2007)

Technology & convergence

Africa: Mobile and digital to rule by 2010

The international broadcasting centre at Nasrec in Johannesburg will ensure that billions of viewers worldwide get uninterrupted coverage of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, through satellite and fibre optic transmissions.

The world-class international broadcasting centre (IBC) planned for Nasrec will be one of the defining features that will make South Africa's World Cup a truly global event. It is expected that almost four billion spectators will rely on this technology to see the games in 2010.

Planning for the IBC started in July, when the cabinet approved Johannesburg's bid to host the international centre. And the City's 2010 project office reported on progress on the IBC during an ordinary mayoral committee meeting on 18 October.

The City of Johannesburg was finalising the lease agreement for the IBC with Fifa, the international football governing body, confirmed Sibongile Mazibuko, the City's 2010 executive director. "We are waiting for the final Fifa green light. The cabinet has given us its blessing."

The immediate priority was to have this agreement with Fifa in place, Mazibuko stressed. "The actual network plans are our next big step." The government has promised a minimum of 500,000Mbps of bandwidth to Fifa – similar to that supplied by Germany when it hosted the World Cup in 2006. The 30,000-square-metre IBC at Nasrec will accommodate about 4 000 journalists from all over the globe and all broadcasting houses will have their link only through the IBC.

Throughout the cup, the IBC will serve as the nerve centre for the world's sports media. "All telecommunications transmissions from or to venues or non-venues will end and start at the centre," 2010 Local Organising Committee's information technology manager, Zakes Mnisi, said earlier this year.

In addition, each of the 10 stadiums in the nine host cities will have one satellite dish; the IBC will have four. The IBC satellite teleport will be new and enable digital terrestrial television (DTT) and digital video broadcasting-handheld (DVB-H), the global standard in mobile broadcast technology.

Construction at Soccer City, alongside SAFA House

Signals from the technology centres at each of the 10 stadiums where matches will be played, will be sent to the IBC for onward transmission - be it in high-definition digital, standard-definition digital, standard-definition analogue or formatted for mobile devices.

South Africa's 2010 bid book submission guarantees that the information technology infrastructure will be world class. It will be up to the major three information technology stakeholders - the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Telkom, and Sentec - to ensure that the IBC is an IT success story.

Telkom's design proposal was unanimously accepted by all stakeholders before the report was tabled. In all, eight Telkom exchanges will be utilised for the IBC and Soccer City facilities. "Each of the facilities requires connection to two independent exchanges and the two facilities cannot share an exchange," the report noted. The exchanges identified are at Turffontein, Robertsham, Aeroton, Mayfair, Nancefield, Meredale, Diepkloof and Power Park.

New optic fibre cables will have to be installed between some of the exchanges. Telkom will focus on fibre connectivity specifically to those exchanges in previously disadvantaged areas to fulfil its legacy requirement.

Sentech has also provided its architectural layout for the satellite teleporting infrastructure, meeting the national guarantees of the bid proposal. It proposed two scenarios, the one fulfilling 2010 requirements, the other being the legacy infrastructure that will stay behind after the World Cup.

Once the IT infrastructure was in place, the main satellite farm at Honeydew would have a permanent backup facility, largely eliminating any international transmission breakages, the report stated. In addition, the permanent satellite link in the Nasrec area would be a major catalyst in stimulating commercial activity in the area, thus also leaving a legacy.

The infrastructure will provide wire and wireless national and international telephone, data, audio and video exchanges and carry live feeds, in high definition, from the stadiums around the country. The data will be processed at the IBC and distributed onward to broadcasters around the world.

"If the increased satellite connectivity in the area is considered in conjunction with the connectivity provided by Telkom, the legacy benefits for the area and the region are immense," the report concluded.

So far, the plan is for halls five, six, seven and eight at Nasrec to house the host broadcast services logistics offices, the Fifa co-ordination offices, the LOC offices and all South African, Asian and European broadcasters.

Next-door a 12-storey hotel will be built to accommodate journalists and IBC support staff. The onsite hotel is expected to have 500 rooms and will be completed in time for the Confederations Cup in 2009. A retail and office building, an exhibition and film centre, and an events facility will also be constructed at Nasrec.

The 500 residential units at the expo centre would be retained for the benefit of Johannesburg residents and would be available for rental or purchase after the World Cup, Mazibuko said.

Munich hosted the IBC for the German World Cup, which broadcast the action to an estimated worldwide audience of 3.6 billion people. Germany used a national fibre-optic network, duplicated in case of failure, with two 20Gbps cables leaving each of the 12 stadiums. Inside the stadiums, journalists and photographers had full access to the internet at very high speeds, allowing them to file articles and high-resolution photographs instantly to their newspapers and journals back home.

The German IBC provided almost 500 000Mbps of dedicated bandwidth infrastructure. Mazibuko said our facility would be similar to or even better than the Germans' one. Housing the IBC, Soccer City, the soccer stadium, and Safa House in one precinct meant that the media would be within walking distance of all amenities, with a bridge linking the match venue with Soccer City itself, she pointed out. "It is quite exciting to think of Nasrec as the nucleus of the World Cup."

The overall ICT infrastructure would support a variety of World Cup initiatives, including fan parks, kiosks, travel and tourism structures, emergency response teams and transport and traffic management.

The broadcasting centre will take about five months to complete and upgrading will start in the next financial year. "We, as the City will hand over the ready site as required by Fifa in January 2010," Mazibuko confirmed.

Johannesburg has committed R120-million to the IBC. This sum excludes the infrastructure investments that will be made by Telkom and Sentec. "The IBC project is supported by a guarantee from the national Department of Communication and other budget allocations will be made by the national department."

The total cost of the information technology upgrades to the country will be between R2-billion and R5-billion.

(http://www.joburg.co.za, 26th October 2007)

Nigeria: Club Int'l Introduces WBEica

A new product, 'WBEica', consisting of essential industry specific work tools and a personal entertainment platform all on a handheld device has been introduced into the Nigerian market by Club International, a North America based company with presence in South Africa.

WBEica, according to a statement from the company, is an acronym for Wireless Business Entertainment internet content applications. It is a mobile business and lifestyle service wrapped up in a single mobile client used by corporate bodies and individuals to enjoy the true benefits of their wireless handheld devices.

In Nigeria "WBEica" is being launched on the BlackBerry device because of the reputation BlackBerry holds for providing the best mobile data platform today. WBEica works with all mobile operators offering the Blackberry service in Nigeria.

There are two parts to the WBEica service, the enterprise service and the Lifestyle service. Membership comes at two service levels, Amber, Tan and Ether. With either service you always have access to quality of service guaranteed from all the club's products.

WBEica service, among others, consists of enabling members gain access to critical corporate data and performs full office functions as though they were behind their desks, beyond email anywhere anytime. WBEica has grown to become a major business tool and The Club International as the leading Blackberry ISV partner in sub-Saharan Africa is bringing the added benefits to Blackberry users in Africa's largest market, Nigeria. With the richest bouquet of enterprise and lifestyle services in the world, The Club Internationals' WBEica is the leading source of solutions. From enterprise solutions like CRM, Sales force automation, mobile work order processing and mobile service desk management to lifestyle applications like games, puzzles, dictionaries and concierge services among others.

WBEica as a business tool has evolved over seven years and has solutions for most major industry sectors from Oil and Gas, Finance, Legal, Media, Manufacturing, and agriculture to Government and security. WBEica leverages on a company's existing infrastructure to extend its data on the most secure platform in the world, therefore reducing the overall cost of deployment.

With the introduction of WBEica to the Nigerian market, Nigeria joins the league of nations that are enjoying the true benefits of enterprise mobility which always leads to increased productivity.

(This Day (Lagos), 7 November 2007)

Kenya: Telkom to Launch Internet Enabled Pay Phones

Kenya's national telecommunications provider, Telkom Kenya, has decided to beat the irritating underground copper cable vandals at their own game.

The company announced last week it will launch internet enabled payphones powered by the CDMA wireless technology, in a bid to phase out the current telephone booths, which rely on fixed copper lines. The existing booths have been criticized as outdated and inefficient owing to frequent breakdowns that have seen the firm lose billions in profits. Looting and vandalism of the cables connecting the booths has also been a major issue. This is expected to go with the introduction of full time wireless CDMA technology.

Telkom officials also said the company will continue to offer mobile service through the CDMA technology as opposed to the GSM technology. The two mobile service providers Safaricom and Celtel had threatened to go to court to block Telkom from offering GSM services attributing their arguments to unfair competition.

In the initial plans of the roll out of the internet enabled payphones due to start next year, Telkom Kenya will target schools, shopping malls, restaurants , super markets and big corporations. Trails for the new facilities will kick off next month before the company embarks on an aggressive launch and publicity project. Telkom Kenya has in the recent days embarked on investment in more state of the art and modern day communication technology. This has been widely seen as effort to remain afloat in the critically competitive telecommunication industry in Kenya and the region.

(East African Business Week (Kampala), 5 November 2007)

T&C Briefs:

- Multichoice’s long awaited DStv Broadband Web TV service is now available to subscribers. The new DStv Web TV service from Multichoice, hosted at http://www.dstvbroadband.co.za/, is now available to all DStv Premium subscribers.

Events

- Input 2007 Awards

May 2008

Joburg has been awarded the bid to host the International Public Television (INPUT) organisation’s annual showcase – considered to be the World Cup of the TV industry – and the preliminary events kick off next week. A series of mini Input’s are being staged around Africa in the lead-up to the international screening conference in May next year, the biggest global TV Extravaganza on our Continent ever. And, from November 2nd to 4th 2007 the Host Broadcaster, the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC), and the Goethe Institute will bring the crème de la crème of the current travelling Input collection to Johannesburg.

People

Namibia: NBC's HR Manager still Suspended

Laura Beudi, facilitator and muse of the string music Trace visited Cote d’Ivoire last week.

A TV presenter and radio host, she officiated alongside Claudy Siar in his show 'Tropical Colors' on RFI. It made its first appearance in front of the cameras of ATV, a local channel in Martinique. Trace is the 3rd TV francophone network behind TV5 and Euronews, and is currently broadcast in more than 90 countries.

Nigerian R&B sensation D'Banj won the laurels in the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards, taking home the gong for Best African Act. D'Banj, 'Batman' Samini, Jua Cali and HHP were all in Munich for the show with Chameleone of Uganda the only nominee not to make the trip.

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