MultiChoice’s pay-TV service (GOtv) is now available in Rwanda, following a tie-up between a local subsidiary of the South African giant, the Tele10 Group and Rwanda Broadcasting Authority (RBA).
Stephen Isaboke, MultiChoice’s regional director for Eastern Africa, said that the company wants to “facilitate the country’s switch from analogue to digital broadcasting by providing quality, but affordable pay-TV services to the mass market,” As part of the partnership deal, MultiChoice is to help RBA upgrade its infrastructure.
“This will help boost capacity to enable us host about 24 television channels compared to eight channels presently. The entry of GOtv presents producers of local TV content opportunity, and those willing to start TV stations as there would be more frequencies to host them,” Arthur Asiimwe, director general, RBA, is quoted as saying during the platform’s launch in Kigali.
Rwanda postponed its 31 December 2012 deadline for the switch-off of analogue broadcasting, due to the scarcity of digital set-top boxes in the country. RBA is now broadcasting terrestrially in both analogue and digital, and claims the digital terrestrial TV (DTT) signal covers 95% of the country as of October 2013.
GOtv will compete in Rwanda’s pay-TV sector with China’s Star Times, Canal+Afrique and MultiChoice’s premium pay service DStv.
