Satellite television is in for a change in Southern Africa  Free2View
this week launches its MSNBC Africa channel, which will bring free
satellite TV to millions, write Itumeleng Motuba and Tamlyn Stewart in The Times.
All it takes is a once-off payment of R1400 for a digital receiver and a satellite dish. After that, everything is free.
But media analysts believe that the price tag for the receiver and the dish still put Southern Africa’s only free-to-air satellite television platform out reach of 40million potential viewers.
Great Media’s chief technical director, Malcolm Ramsay, said MSNBC Africa intends offering 36 channels, including 24-hour news, and documentary and entertainment channels.
MSNBC Africa is part of the global MSNBC family and hopes to generate income from advertising as opposed to subscriptions .
The bouquet will also include MSNBC international prime-time programming, which will be repeated twice daily.
David Moore, media analyst at Africa Analysis, said that though there was a gap in the local broadcasting market, the buy-in costs put the new channel out of reach of most Southern Africans.
Click here to read the full report, posted on The Times website.ÂÂÂ
