--
African stakeholders converge at StarTimes Digital TV Seminar --
Tue, 09 Jun 2015 16:32
--
SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: The 5th African Digital TV Development Seminar, hosted by Chinese multinational technology company StarTimes, is being held from 9 to 10 June in Beijing. The conference, which was first introduced in 2011 when it hosted 27 delegates from 17 African countries, has grown substantially to include 119 representatives from 29 African countries this year. The focus for the 2015 edition is Digital transformation for social development in Africa .
Reporting from this industry event, Screen Africa highlights some of the pertinent issues which Africa faces in this shift, new StarTimes developments and initiatives in the market, and learnings from countries which have successfully completed digital migration.
In his keynote speech, StarTimes chairman Pang Xinxing emphasised the complexity which African countries face in completing digital transformation. Digitisation in Africa is not a simple process, said Pang. It requires complicated technical and communication solutions, training and skills development, extensive finance and funding as well as full acceptance and engagement from stakeholders. It is a complex and systematic process. According to Pang, certain requirements are necessary for successful transitioning; including a supply of rich content, sufficient network capacity, a strong marketing strategy and a team which understands the technical aspects associated with the process. Pang also believes that a unified Pan-African approach should be taken when deciding on encoding, transmission, playout and control standards.
Representatives from Kenya and Tanzania, countries which have recently successfully completed digital migration ahead of the ITU deadline, shared some of their experiences in implementing the switchover. Both Francois Wangusi, director general of the Communications Authority of Kenya; and Fenella Mukangara, minister of information, culture and sports in Tanzania, stated that the biggest benefits to come from digital migration were job creation and a boom in local production. Wangusi shared some of the challenges faced by Kenya and said education was a major obstacle, further complicated by mainstream TV broadcasters refusing to air any communication on the subject, which blocked communication channels between government and consumers and delayed the process. Education was our biggest challenge not just to consumers but to stakeholders, broadcasters and even the judicial system. Mukangara credits the digital success achieved by Tanzania to sufficient preparation and planning. Tanzania took to this challenge early on. There were some initial struggles but we made sure we moved forward at the necessary pace. We gave ourselves two years before the deadline to roll out the process, which was smooth and successful.
According to Michael Dearham, vice president of the StarTimes Group, Africa s digital transformation has a major role to play in social inclusion and the company s drive to make TV accessible and affordable to the masses in Africa. Dearham maintains that a paradox still exists in Africa s economy: despite promising economic growth, extreme poverty is increasing and social exclusion is still a challenge in transformation. Digital is a catalyst in this revolution, said Dearham, who maintained that digital goods, services and an online presence would support local industries. He added that entering the digital era would allow for greater societal and governmental interactivity as well as job opportunities.
Part of StarTimes content strategy is to offer its African subscribers programming in indigenous languages, adapted successful Chinese formats and exclusive sports channels. Day One of the conference included a signing between StarTimes and German football league Bundesliga for exclusive rights to broadcast the league s next five seasons. Pang said of the deal, Soccer is a popular game and should serve its fans. Everyone has the right to enjoy a game on TV. In Africa many people love sport, but viewing live events is still a luxury for many. We want to make Bundesliga affordable and available to all our African viewers. Bundesliga representative and DFL Sports Enterprises GmbH J rg Daubitzer added, To close the contract today is very important to Bundesliga. People in Africa have a deep love for football; they should be able to watch one of the best leagues in the world. We are working with StarTimes to bring Bundesliga to as many African households as possible.
Day One of the conference concluded with StarTimes signing a deal and announcing a continued partnership with Discovery Networks. This will see an expansion and upgrade to Discovery s existing channels on StarTimes Discovery Science, Discovery ID (to be upgraded to Discovery IDX) and Euro Sport News as well as the addition of a future edutainment channel created by the Discovery Learning Alliance.
Report filed from Beijing by Carly Barnes, Screen Africa Deputy Editor.
Related Articles
StarTimes secures rights for major sporting eventsStarTimes has secured broadcast rights, some of which are exclusive, for a number of major sporting events...
Read more...
African Movie Channel in new deal with StarTimesFollowing a new deal signed in April 2015 with StarTimes, AMC has launched African Movie Channel Series...
Read more...
IROKOtv and StarTimes sign deal for two new TV channelsIROKOtv and StarTimes have signed an exclusive deal at MIPTV for two new linear TV channels: IROKO Play and IROKO Plus...
Read more...
-- --
-- --
-- Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. comments powered by Disqus
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
-- 
