With new digital TV, content will be king

By Kenfrey Kiberenge

It has been billed as the technology that will revolutionalise how we watch television.

And this is the only technology that Africa has gone ‘head-to-head’ with the developed world in adopting. US switched over last year while the process is in progress in the UK.

The much-awaited digital TV is now a reality in Kenya, putting the country on course to beat the set 2015 – and the self imposed June 2012 – deadline for complete switch from analogue.

Today, thousands of Kenyans around Nairobi and its environs are watching their favourite local TV programmes using this technology, although analogue transmission is also available.

Currently, the service is operated by Signet, a subsidiary of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the signals.

And it is now emerging that virtually all TV sets in the country will receive the digital signal, contrary to popular belief that viewers have to replace them with digital ones.

Mr Nicholus Omondi, the lead technician at Signet, says almost all TVs will receive the signal.

"As long as it is working, it will receive the digital signal. Even when we switch over completely, you need not to buy a digital TV receiver," he said.

However, TV owners will need to purchase a set top box, which will convert the signal. In addition, viewers will also retain their current aerials to receive the signal.

"The set top box will be plugged between the aerial and the TV using the normal ports," he said. Kenya will switch off analogue broadcasts in June 2012 and people who will not have acquired the set top boxes will be forced to do without TV.

Signet has been mandated by the Government to transmit the digital signals provided by local TV stations. The firm will operate on an open basis providing broadcasters with a route to switch from analogue to digital transmission and minimise anti-competitive behaviour.

Until 2012, when the transition to digital has been completed, Signet will carry private broadcasters’ signals free of charge, but will charge for its services after this date.

Quality pictures

Digital signal means up to 16 stations can use one analogue frequency (channel). And with 20 useable frequencies, this means the country can accommodate up to 320 channels.

In addition, viewers will be treated to quality pictures and sound, akin to the DVD output, from all the channels.

"You can’t say that I won’t watch station X because it is unclear, all will come with the same clarity of video and sound. With digital TV we say ‘content is king’," said Omondi.

This will effectively push all TV stations back to the drawing board as programme content, and not the signal clarity, will lure viewers.

But the Government, Omondi says, may be forced to agree on a business module that will see viewers charged a small amount of money as subscription fee for watching TV.

Until 1990s, KBC issued similar permits for radio listeners and TV viewers. The same practice is common in the UK where viewers pay BBC.

"The Government is yet to agree on the business module that will be used. It might be agreed that viewers pay, say, Sh100 per month to gain access. This means the burden of sustaining the technology will be taken from the TV stations and Government," he said.

The set top boxes come with a slot where the subscription card will be inserted, a module used by pay TV channels. In return, the stations will concentrate on upgrading their programmes to please viewers, Omondi says.

Currently, all the major TV stations are available on digital TV, free of charge, with many more expected to be launched in the near future.

Communication Commission of Kenya board Chairman Philip Okundi said the commission had licensed 18 commercial free-to-air TV and 60 FM broadcasters in the country. He said the subscription television services have also attracted 17 players mainly for multi-channel satellite and cable television service providers with a 70,000 subscription base.

Viewers to pay

Omondi says depending on the technological advancement, viewers will in future pay only for programmes and movies they want to watch under arrangements known as paper view and video on demand, respectively. In addition, Internet may be available on TV.

Kenya is one of the few countries in Africa to embark on migration, having set 2012 as the deadline for the analogue television switch-off. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Radiocommunications Conference (RRC-06) set 2015 as the global deadline. The migration to digital television broadcasting is scheduled to take place in three phases.

The first phase is the digital switch-on. The digital signal is initially being transmitted in Nairobi and its environs including Kajiado, Machakos, Naivasha and Murang’a. The other two phases will involve distributing the signal to other parts of the country during the dual-illumination period before the eventual switch-off of the analogue signal.

Tax relief

When he unveiled the technology last December, President Kibaki directed Treasury to find means of providing tax relief for the importation of set top boxes to make it affordable.

The switch will benefit consumers because digital broadcasting allows stations to offer improved picture and sound quality through a process called "multicasting".

Multicasting allows broadcast stations to offer several channels of digital programming at the same time. For example, while a station broadcasting in analogue on channel 7 can only offer viewers one programme, a station broadcasting in digital on channel 7 can offer viewers one digital programme on channel 7-1, 7-2, 7-3 and so on.