Entertaining and informing
Television is an integral part of arts and entertainment in the modern day. With advances, television has become more than just entertainment. It is used to educate, inform and raise awareness of matters of public interest. It is also an effective tool for cultural preservation. In Malawi, a number of television service providers have sprouted over the years. Multichoice Malawi provides digital satelitte television (DStv) and GOtv platforms. Our reporter AYAMI MKWANDA engaged Multichoice Malawi marketing manager Chimwemwe Nyirenda to discuss a number of issues surrounding services offered by Multichoice:
Q
: MultiChoice has been in the country for over two decades providing entertainment through various channels on DStv; would you say you have served Malawians to their satisfaction thus far?
A
: As a video entertainment company, our role is to enrich lives through the power of entertainment and we believe that through our DStv and GOtv platforms—we continually deliver the content our Malawian customers love as well as contribute to the success of local economies through our supply chain that features multiple agents and installers. We also continuously work with our various channels to play a positive role in Malawi by ensuring that our creative industry grows into a vibrant, economic powerhouse.
Q
: Around 2013, MultiChoice introduced GOtv in the country; tell us what prompted you to introduce GOtv and how have things been so far?
A
: As Africa switches from analogue to digital terrestrial transmissions (DTT) a new world of exciting television entertainment is opened up for Malawians. Our DStv customers have always enjoyed digital television; however, our main aim was to make great television entertainment even more accessible to Malawians. When we introduced our DTT platform we made GOtv to be at the front of this digital revolution. GOtv allows our customers to enjoy great entertainment with clear picture and sound quality at an affordable price.
Q
: Some people have complained that the subscription for DStv is very exorbitant compared with other Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) countries like South Africa. How true are these assertions?
A
: MultiChoice Africa’s pricing is determined by a variety of factors, including the quality of the channels it provides, leasing of satellite capacity. DStv provides premium content and variety. We offer the best entertainment available and we offer it on early release, while it remains fresh. DStv has been benchmarking itself with international leaders, in providing the best television entertainment. When benchmarked against these international operator’s prices are highly competitive.
Q
: On the same issue of paying high rates, some people are buying DStv Explora Decoders from South Africa and subscribing there. Do you think this trend can be stopped by MultiChoice Malawi lowering the charges?
A
: When reviewing our DStv offering and pricing points in each country we take into account local dynamics such as inflation, currency devaluations, programming costs, overheads as well as efficiencies for each business. Local import taxes also vary considerably across the continent and impact the price customers pay. If you do a comparison around the pricing, you will find out that our pricing in Malawi is among the lowest in the market. However, what is more important is how we reach various segments of the market. The approach we have taken is to make sure that there are different packages with varying price ranges that allows customers to enjoy different product sets.
Q
: Some channels on GOtv have been removed: One Gospel, BET, Chanel O, Martial Arts, SET and Super Sport 9. Can you justify the removal of these channels that many people used to enjoy?
A: Supert Sport 9 content has been relocated to Super Select 1 to allow us to streamline our sports offering. With regards to other channels, from time to time, MultiChoice assesses the performance and viability of channels on the platform. To facilitate a review of the content and achieve a diverse variety of programming, we often have to take decisions to remove these channels. In reviewing our offering, we ensure that our customers continue to get a balanced variety of programming through the multiple channels that we have launched on the platform in the past year including VIASAT Life, Zee Bolly Movies; BBC World News; Eva+; B4U, Africa Igbo, FOX Life and more.
Q: The introduction of Zambezi Magic was supposed to help filmmakers in the country have their movies shown. How much so far has this channel promoted local artists?
A
: There are plenty of great untold Malawian stories and talented filmmakers that we would like to see gain exposure not only in Malawi, but across the region. Since its launch last year in July, Zambezi Magic has showcased some home-grown content like local film maker, Shemu Joyah’s movies Seasons of a Life and The Last Fishing Boat as well as Choices. The channel has also featured some Malawian artists and songs on the Zed Top 10 show. The channel is constantly on the lookout for good quality content from the region and we urge local television and film producers looking for opportunities to extend the distribution of their content to reach out to the channel as previously urged by the channel head Addiel Dzinoreva during his visit to Malawi last year.
Q
: In what other ways does MultiChoice Malawi promote culture and arts in the country?
A
: MultiChoice Malawi has been sponsoring events like Lake of Stars, Sand Music Festival and Blantyre Arts Festival, among others. n
