Africa’s migration from analogue broadcasting to digital terrestrial television
(DTT) has been a hot topic over the past few years. At the DISCOP AFRICA
Conference held in Johannesburg in
November 2012, the continent’s digital migration was once again under the
spotlight.
In terms of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Africa must
complete its digital migration by 2015, after which the analogue signal will no
longer be protected.
Mauritius is the only country in the African region to have switched off the
analogue signal. South Africa, by contrast, has been trialing DTT since November
2008. In October 2012 the South African Minister of Communications undertook a
“proof of concept’ or a soft launch of DTT in the Northern Cape. The commercial
launch is yet to take place.
At the DISCOP AFRICA Conference, Russell Southwood of Balancing Act, pointed
out that some African countries are running small DTT pilots while only five
countries have actually launched the process.
“Africa is a poor continent so it seems a bit mad to ask poor people to pay $50
for a set-top box (STB) just to decode the digital signal,’ continued Southwood.
“But this transition will happen so it’s important to focus on the benefits. DTT is
not only a technical transition but a business and consumer transformation as
well.
“In the rest of the world migration has taken between six and 10 years. One of
the African countries to have launched DTT is Nigeria, in the form of a public /
private partnership with Star Times.’
Jason Njoku from Nigerian company iROKO Partners, an online distributor of
Nollywood and other African content, stated that DTT is an important step for the
continent because it offers cost-effective access to content and quality in terms
of picture resolution and audio.
“The success of DTT will all come down to cost – what are you going to get in
terms of content once you have bought the STB? Nigerians will pay but they
need the right triggers and that boils down to lots of content. I must say that
Star Times has done a fabulous job in contributing to Nigeria’s DTT progress,’
said Njoku.
Sass Jahani of ABC Broadcasting, a UK company that specialises in playout,
noted that one of the main benefits of DTT is capacity. “A single analogue
channel equates to 20 digital channels so international broadcasters can
introduce niche channels and localise them.’
Content issues
The South African Screen Federation (SASFED) has concerns regarding the
funding that will be required to pay for all the new content on the DTT channels.
Said SASFED’s Marc Schwinges: “Where will the money come from to pay for all
this new content that is meant to reflect South Africa’s various language groups?
The production sector is concerned that the local broadcasters are trying to
convince regulator ICASA to reduce content quotas to help them pay for the
migration process. SASFED is working for a better regulation of local
content.’
Schwinges stressed that it was important to differentiate between DTT and IPTV.
“They are two different things – IPTV is global while DTT is niche. So from a
content point of view there are two different markets and sets of needs. We are
curious about the delayed roll out of DTT in South Africa and we may miss the
boat if in two to three years we can receive content in our home through better
broadband which enables IPTV services.’
Craig Johnson of Nielsen maintained that DTT is great for new players but
established broadcasters could see an erosion of their market share from
existing channels.
“Advertising sales models need a careful rethink once all the extra DTT channels
appear. In most countries the additional DTT channels have been targeted to
niche audiences and it’s worked well.
“DTT also threatens to erode pay-TV channels. From a sales point of view – good
audience ratings equals ad sales. The Coca-Colas and Unilevers of this world
won’t advertise in the African market without audience ratings and these need
sophisticated measurement models.’
Consumer point of view
Focusing on the consumer perspective, Kate Skinner of South Africa’s SOS:
Support Public Broadcasting Coalition, noted the absence of an effective DTT
communications campaign in South Africa.
“To date there has been very little information about the digital incentives and
new content that will be on offer. We still don’t know how much a STB will cost –
we’ve only had estimates varying between R400 and R700. There are also
issues around what kind of antennas will be needed. The actual costs of what
DTT entails must be clarified for the public.
“Government has announced that there will be STB subsidies for South Africa’s
poorer households but has not explained how this will be implemented,’ said
Skinner.
She pointed out that public broadcaster SABC is going to play a crucial role in
DTT. “The SABC’s 24-hour news channel has been discussed and there has been
a lot of talk around sports and educational channels.
“We need more transparency from the SABC about its digital migration plans,’
said Skinner.
