Africa gets new pay-TV service

2007-02-22 16:14

Johannesburg - A new, paid-for pan-African satellite television channel called GTV will begin operating at mid-year, its owners said on Thursday.

There will be "a phased roll-out across sub-Saharan Africa," said Julian McIntyre, president of Gateway Communications.

GTV "will provide a unique bouquet of high quality international and local entertainment content with a subscription price aimed at penetrating the chronically underserved African television market," said McIntyre.

It would target customers who have previously been unable to afford subscription services and have been limited to national free-to-air television stations.

"The African market has been artificially constrained by monopoly pricing and non-relevant content. Consumers across Africa want to watch the latest high quality television programming that combines international and local content which is relevant to their lives and at a price that is comparable to a utility".

Licensing wrangles

"GTV will be a pay-TV platform for Africa, not simply rebroadcasts of European or South African content," said McIntyre.

Countries to receive GTV include Kenya, Tanzania Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

South Africans would however have to wait longer due to licensing wrangles, said Fred Cornet, a Gateway Communications spokesperson based in South Africa.

"We don't see GTV coming to SA in the foreseeable future. But we do believe that GTV would provide good competition to Multichoice in other Southern African countries," said Cornet.

GTV would carry major international channels as well as in-house channels, including "G Prime", a general entertainment and movie channel, and "G Sports 1" and "G Sports 2".

The latter will focus on live sports events, including the major European football leagues. The service will also focus on promoting African content.

- SAPA