Hot on the heels of the ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of SA) announcement last week that it had granted four new pay-TV licences, comes news that MultiChoice, which up till now has dominated the South African and African TV subscription landscape, is to expand its base in Nigeria and Angola.
MultiChoice is owned by quoted company Naspers which has stated that subscribers are expected to double over the next five years despite fresh competition from new entrants, namely e.sat, Telkom Media, Walk on Water and On Digital Media. According to Eben Greyling, CEO at MultiChoice Africa, better governance and encouraging economic growth in many African countries, where MultiChoice operates, had led to increased foreign investment and infrastructure growth.
“Long term, I can’t see why we could not double our subscriber base in five years," said Greyling. Naspers’ MultiChoice operations contribute more than half of the group’s revenue. The group has just over 1.4 million subscribers in South Africa, and 500,000 in other parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Greyling said MultiChoice Africa had been operating in Nigeria for more than 12 years, and over the past three years subscribers had grown by 20,000 a year.
Source: Rapid TV News
