1. Africa: DTT Transition
Progress and Future
Challenges
Russell Southwood, Balancing Act
www.balancingact-africa-com
@BalancingActAfr
!

2. Market report released

3. Summary - DTT impact (Aug. 2013)
TV households: more than 100 Million but only 2.5
million of them receive DTT (soon more M. in Tanzania-
Kenya)
100 Million African TV households need to get DTT
equipt (STB, DTV, antennas)
>500 African TV channels still need to convert to digital.
Between now and 2020, almost 50 national terrestrial
networks need to be set up
At least 56 DTT bouquets will need to be created
>need for digital content and digital channels

4. The new African TV landscape
African Pop. to double in 2050
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Data Base, table 1330. Release date: 9/30/2011.

5. The new African TV landscape
Number of Analogue TV Channels by country (2011)
43% of countries only have 1-2 analogue channels.

6. The DTT transition in Africa
Key benefits
1 More channels
2 Universal access to information, variety
3 Better sound and image quality
4
Free up spectrum for other services
(telecoms)
5 Telecoms development
6 Reshape the communications sector
7 Enter the digital age
8 Option: more local content
9 Option: more delivery platforms
10 Option: combat piracy
11 Option: interactive services
12 Option: e-governance
13 Option: extra local jobs

7. DTT progress so far
Status Number of countries
No announcement of timeline
(“Nowhere to be seen.”
11
Policy paper, Task Force,
Committee, Training
(“Slow adopters”)
17
Pilots 20
Early adopters (Mauritius) 7
Completed (Tanzania?) 1

8. Key contenders in DTT space
 Star Times: Chinese company. Work with state broadcaster
as way into DTT and Pay TV market. Also signal carrier
licence in Kenya. No content in depth. Low-end bouquets but
bigger ambitions.
 2 million subscribers but different accounts of what this
means.
 Presence in 10 countries: Ghana (planned), Kenya, Malawi,
Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone (planned),
Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Pilots elsewhere.
 GoTV: Naspers-owned Pay TV company.Content in depth
and range of bouquet prices.
 376,000 subscribers. Same countries as above minus .mz
and .sl
 Others: All local players (eg TNT in Gabon) with not much
scale

9. Likely shape of Future Landscape
- +5-10 years
 More Free To Air channels even in countries currently with
only 1-2. Still major FTA players but rest fragmented.
 More thematic rather than time-based channels, Former will
be widely distributed.
 Increase in Pay TV subscribers. More competition. Triple
Play.
 Satellite “fremium” channel bouquets
 Advertisers’ perspective: Have advertise on more channels
because behavior less predictable. Impact of data Bermuda
Triangle.
 Increasing impact of downloads as bandwidth accelerates
(LTE). VOD, etc. Both paid and unpaid (iROKO & Buni TV)
 Greater level of international content sales
 The electricity factor.

10. Spectrum issues - Government
strategic choices and impact
Low (RW) and Very Low(LR) Occupancy

11.  Red = High; Yellow = Medium;
Green = Low
 DRC and Uganda (152 MHz) –
only high in capitals
 Same is true for Medium
countries except Ghana
 Majority of African
countries, analogue TV
broadcasting doesn’t use up
much spectrum and therefore
doesn’t occupy much in the
band 790-862MHz
Spectrum Issues – Govt. strategic choices
and impact
Overview of High, Medium and Low Occupancy
Below the headlines

12. Spectrum: What is likely to happen
 2% of countries will incur increase in spectrum occupancy when
digital broadcasting introduced (Ethiopia).
 37% of countries no change (Algeria, Libya, Rwanda, Southern
Sudan, Zimbabwe, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Comoros,
Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-
Bissau, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Sao Tome and
Seychelles)
 61% of African countries will incur a decrease in spectrum
occupancy when digital broadcasting is introduced (Angola, Benin,
Botswana, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia,
Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,
South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda,
Zambia, Burundi, Cape Verde, Congo-B, DRC, Côte d'Ivoire,
Malawi, Morocco, Sierra Leone and Somalia)

13. What Other People Watch African Film Emerging social media
Emerging Online Digtal Advertising Emerging Technology

14. Balancing Act
 Consultancy and research
 Reports: Analogue to digital migration in Africa-Strategic
choices and current developments (Out now)
 3nd edition of African Broadcast and Film Markets (Before end
of 2013)