By Jackson Okoth
StarTimes Media Kenya, digital pay TV company, has extended its signal to Mombasa. This comes three weeks after it launched services in Nairobi and Kisumu.
The firm plans to reach seven other major cities before the end of this year, pushing digital television services to a market dominated by analogue with black and white TV sets, especially in rural Kenya accounting for 40 per cent of the market.
While there is a rush to meet the 2015 deadline when the world is supposed to migrate from analogue to digital platforms TV, cost of this process is still prohibitive. The viewer public has also not been sensitized on the need to migrate to digital TV.
Speaking at the launch, the chief guest Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources Rashid S Kajembe acknowledged the positive impact that the investment in the region will have to the people of Mombasa.
“The launch signals continued investor confidence in this country and this region in particular.
This clearly shows our great potential and promises even better opportunities for our people, I understand StarTimes is eyeing up to 300 employees in the country by the end of this year and am happy that part of this team will be drawn from this region, ” said Kajembe.
The company has embarked on an aggressive regional expansion plan aimed at providing digital television service to a majority of Kenyans in different parts of the country who have previously been left out of this service as the cost has been largely out of their reach.
“We are being 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 TV.
Previously, this has been a preserve of a few but the entry of StarTimes will turn this around by ensuring we provide world class television content at costs that are not only pocket friendly but also offer value for money.” said the firm’s Chief Executive Officer Leo Lee.
The company, which plans to employ over 1,000 Kenyan staff members by 2015, has braced for a fight for the largely un tapped digital television market with the introduction of not only home entertainment but also mobile television through mobile TV, Car TV and portable TV at the most competitive rates in the market.
Buoyed by the most comprehensive inclusion of all the free to air channels currently available on analogue in Kenya and an enviable composition of over 120 world class international channels, StarTimes is keen to get this to every house hold.
