Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      South African AI energy start-up in R32m funding round

      17 June 2025

      New platform helps homeowners avoid delays in property sales

      17 June 2025

      Vodacom CEO Joosub bags R71m in pay – but taxman will take a big cut

      17 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • World

      Trump Mobile dials into politics, profit and patriarchy

      17 June 2025

      Samsung plots health data hub to link users and doctors in real time

      17 June 2025

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » In-depth » Battle rages for Africa’s pay-TV market

    Battle rages for Africa’s pay-TV market

    By Agency Staff28 June 2018
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    When Chinese media company StarTimes entered Ivory Coast’s pay-TV market two years ago, Canal+ appeared to take notice. A few months later, the unit of France’s Vivendi cut the cost of its decoder by a third.

    StarTimes has since signed up 100 000 subscribers in the West African nation, offering soccer matches, movies and even Chinese soap operas in a market where, only a decade ago, most people were limited to two state-controlled TV channels. With bouquets ranging between US$7.75 and $25.80/month, it’s dipped just below the cheapest Canal+ package at $8.60 monthly. That’s helped the Beijing-based company pass the 10 million subscriber mark across sub-Saharan Africa.

    The region is the fastest-growing pay-TV market globally, with the number of customers expected to almost double to 41 million in five years, according to London-based Digital TV Research. Greater access to broadband, low-cost mobile data and new entrants like StarTimes mean that incumbent pay-TV businesses — Canal+ and Naspers’s DStv — have been forced to bring down prices and offer locally produced content to stay competitive.

    For a long time, Canal+ has enjoyed considerable growth in francophone Africa, while DStv has stayed in English-speaking countries in some sort of gentleman’s agreement

    “For a long time, Canal+ has enjoyed considerable growth in francophone Africa, while DStv has stayed in English-speaking countries in some sort of gentleman’s agreement between the two companies,” said Simon Murray, an analyst at Digital TV Research. “Now, there’s a lot of competition, with the Chinese being the most ambitious.”

    While the battle for subscribers began in English-speaking countries, it’s reaching markets such as Ivory Coast, the biggest economy and wealthiest nation of francophone West Africa. With a population of 22 million people, of which about 60% is younger than 25 years, competition between the pay-TV channels has been fierce, Zou Lu, head of StarTimes for French-speaking Africa, said in an interview in Abidjan, the commercial capital.

    “Ivory Coast is an attractive market because of its high purchasing power,” he said. “It’s also very challenging because people are demanding. They want more content and, above all, better quality.”

    Canal+ had 557 000 subscribers in Ivory Coast by the end of last year and DStv had 4 000 viewers, according to data compiled by Murray. DStv was used by 13.5 million households throughout Africa as of end March, Naspers said last week.

    The arrival of StarTimes came as Canal+ changed its Africa strategy. While it used to import French TV programmes for expatriates and wealthy customers, it’s now developing and producing content specifically for African audiences. In 2014, it launched A+, an Africa-focused channel based in Abidjan.

    Reality TV

    Among its biggest successes is a reality-TV show called Koiffure Kitoko, a contest between hairdressers from eight countries who, armed with scissors and straightening irons, compete to create the most spectacular hairstyle. The group also produces an African version of America’s Got Talent, as well as soap operas shot in Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal.

    “The market has clearly changed,” said A+ MD Damiano Malchiodi. “There’s a high expectation from African viewers to showcase what’s happening on the continent.”

    That strategy has paid off: Canal+ added nearly 1.5 million users in two years and had 3.5 million users in the continent at the end of last year, a 67% increase on 2015.

    But it’s not just in pay-TV where the competition is heated: Ivory Coast is opening up its traditional channels and migrating to digital terrestrial TV. Authorities will allow four private TV channels to start broadcasting by the end of the year, ending the 50-year monopoly of the state-owned Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirienne, or RTI. Even the public broadcaster has ramped up investment in content production over the past few years.

    Comedy is also on the rise. Another flagship production of Canal+ is Le Parlement du Rire, or The Parliament of Laughter, a mix of farce and political satire taking place in a fictitious nation called “The very very democratic Republic of Gondwana”. The show is popular because it points at the flaws of some African democracies, said Mamane, the Nigerien comedian who created it.

    “TV is becoming more important because more people can afford it,” Mamane said in an interview as the show’s fifth season was shot in front of a rambunctious live audience in Abidjan. “While TV viewers are decreasing in Europe, audiences are growing in Africa — and it’s the young people who are watching, which means there are plenty of opportunities to expand.”  — Reported by Olivier Monnier and Katarina Hoije, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP



    Canal+ DStv Naspers StarTimes top
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleApple’s patent war with Samsung is finally over
    Next Article Google also wanted to buy GitHub

    Related Posts

    MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

    12 June 2025

    MultiChoice is bleeding subscribers

    11 June 2025

    Forex woes and Showmax costs – MultiChoice under big pressure

    6 June 2025
    Company News

    Altron: a brand journey, a birthday celebration and a bet on Joburg’s future

    17 June 2025

    7 benefits of social media integration in WordPress

    17 June 2025

    Paratus Zimbabwe and PowerTel strike milestone deal

    17 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.