Business Beat caught up with Mr Mark Lisboa, the vice president of marketing at StarTimes, to discuss the pay TV company’s business strategy and growth plans. Excerpts:
Earlier this year, you broke ground for your Africa headquarters here in Kenya. What was the idea behind this move?
We are serious about our investment and commitment in Africa, and in particular Kenya where we intend to centralise our operations.
Our headquarters will occupy 20,000 square metres and we expect to spend Sh6.9 billion by the time we open our doors in 2015. The building will host our Africa headquarters, a film and television dubbing centre, Kenyan offices, a broadcast station, digital TV research and development centre, as well as a training facility for our Africa teams.
What are your plans to take on players like MultiChoice and Zuku in the competitive pay TV market?
Our rich history and success in other African markets will come in handy in meeting the needs of Kenyans as far as their diverse taste in television content is concerned.
This explains our choice of programme bouquets, which include documentaries, news, movies, entertainment and cartoons, all aimed at ensuring everyone’s tastes are catered to.
We are driven by our belief that it is not a privilege but a right for every household in this country to enjoy the benefits of digital television. Previously, this has been the preserve of the few, but the entry of StarTimes is turning this around by ensuring the provision of world-class television content at costs that are not only pocket friendly, but also offer value for money. We have subscription rates from as low as Sh499 a month.
With our fair pricing, our goal is not just to attract, but also maintain our subscribers.
What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered operating in Kenya?
Issues related to the withdrawal of local channels on the digital platform presented a challenge. However, we were able to offer competitive packages that provided informative, entertaining and captivating content, and Kenyans continued to have faith in our services. The channels are now back and our subscribers have a wholesome offering for their family entertainment.
There is also inadequate information on pay TV, which has long been regarded the preserve of the few.
How do you benefit from local channels?
Our digital TV platform is built as a content carrier for premium international channels, while incorporating major analogue channels currently being broadcast in the country. This is intended to provide a wholesome, informative and entertaining package for our subscribers. The benefit, therefore, is for our clients.
How many channels do you offer, and what is the reach of your services?
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We have combined satellite with terrestrial technology, thus facilitating the transmission of more than 80 local and international channels over our platform, covering news, sports, music, movies, TV series, entertainment and documentaries. We intend to grow our channel list to 120.
StarTimes is currently operating in nine countries, including Kenya, Rwanda, Guinea, Nigeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Tanzania and Uganda.
What would you say are the advantages of digital migration to consumers?
There are several significant benefits, including crystal clear video and audio television reception. This, coupled with the increase in the number of free-to-air channels available, will free up bandwidth, allowing more broadcast channels that will provide unprecedented variety in Kenyan households.
With the successful migration to a digital platform, the freed spectrum space can be utilised by mobile operators to improve their networks and Internet services.
Where do you see your company going in the next two years?
We intend to have met our market entry goal, which is to ensure the majority of Kenyan households have access to our digital television service. We are also progressively upgrading our content offering to ensure subscribers get value for money, while ploughing back resources for the growth and development of the communities we continue to serve.
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The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
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