Kenya's TV industry headed for stormy days

NAIROBI: Kenya's broadcast industry is headed for its toughest turn as Government pushes for a shift from analogue to digital platforms ahead of the global June 2015 deadline.

Local television business is at stake and the joint investment in excess of Sh40 billion in broadcasting infrastructure by KTN, NTV, QTV and Citizen TV may just go to waste unless the investments are protected from unfair competition from foreign pay TV channels.

The situation was worsened on Wednesday, when the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) announced it had withdrawn the temporary authorisation for digital broadcasting and repossessed frequencies allocated to the three media houses under a consortium, Africa Digital Network.

The Director General of CAK Francis Wangusi further directed the media houses "are at liberty to avail content on digital platform through Licensed Broadcast Signal Distributors (BSD)."

In a shocking move that violates constitutional requirements for equity and transparency in the allocation of public assets and resources, a Chinese firm, Pang, which owns Star Times has been awarded 120 frequencies out of the 211 frequencies issued or close to 60 per cent of national digital spectrum, the public broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) under its affiliate Signet was allocated 54 frequencies while KTN, NTV and Citizen TV, who control 80 per cent of viewership were jointly allocated 21 frequencies, which have now been withdrawn.

Other frequencies have been allocated to Lancia Africa owned by Radio Africa Group and GoTV, which is a subsidiary of Multichoice Africa.

In short, frequencies, which are scarce national resources, have been distributed in a biased, unfair and unjust manner lacking in transparency and accountability.

Standard Group chief executive officer Sam Shollei, who is also chair of the Media Owners Association, termed the move as biased and ill-timed and aimed at throwing the local TV industry out of business. "We are opposed to unfair competition practices in the transition to digital migration which will erode our investment portfolio."

Observers say the net effect is that Kenya has been converted from largely free-to-air television viewership to a compulsory pay-to-watch TV society despite the big number of people who are vulnerable and live in poverty and cannot afford subscription fees.

Article 19 director Henry Maina warned that CA's move destroys the opportunity to have pluralism and diversity as the bedrock of media content. "It is negation of access to information and more than a violation of freedom of expression."

CHINESE INVESTORS

An estimated 600 journalists and more than 2,000 workers including actors, correspondents and technical staff working in the three stations now face the risk of losing their jobs. Investors in the broadcast industry will lose billions of shillings in infrastructure they have invested in over years and revenue they have enjoyed from advertising in their free-to-air channels.

Kenyans who have been enjoying their favourite programmes for free will now part with money on a monthly basis to watch news and get information about what is going on throughout the country.

How CA arrived at such unfair allocation of frequencies to foreigners remains unjustified even as questions linger over the identity of the owners of the companies, who have taken the lion's share of Kenya's digital broadcasting spectrum.

What is worrying for stakeholders is that the Chinese, who have never been known to uphold freedom of expression, will now control media in a country that has previously enjoyed a robust and largely free media environment.

It means Kenyans who enjoyed freedom of expression on local media platforms will be gagged or be at the mercy of Chinese investors, but worse is that TV channels could be switched-off or be controlled by the foreign masters.

Nation Media Group Chairman Wilfred Kiboro argued: "Digital migration need not be as acrimonious as it is in Kenya. We should have had consultations and consensus with key industry players for a smooth transition.

"The survival of broadcasting industry in Kenya appears precarious and that space previously enjoyed by Kenyans has been handed over to Chinese investors," he added.

Royal Media Services Chairman SK Macharia recounted how discussions on digital migration began way back in 2002 but ran into problems in tendering processes in which local TV stations were knocked out on flimsy technical details.

"As it stands, only StarTimes will be able to broadcast to all parts of Kenya with the preferential allocation of many frequencies. It is not comprehensible why the Government would want to give Chinese this chance and deny Kenyan investors or even KBC such a reach," Macharia said.

"This is a scheme that reflects the frustration of locals as the Government converts Kenya into a compulsory pay TV society dominated by Chinese profiteers targeting the middle-class who are able to pay and watch and black out the rest of the people who are poor and cannot afford monthly subscription costs," argued Macharia.