After 18 months of operation in the Satellite TV market, Econet owners of Kwesé TV has announced a review in its business strategy to focus on the mobile entertainment business.
In a bid to align itself with changes in global digital and satellite broadcasting sector as well as growth in access to mobile and fixed broadband on the continent, Kwesé will now focus on its Kwesé Free Sports (KFS – Africa’s largest free to air service), Kwesé iflix (a leading mobile video on demand sports and entertainment platform) and Kwesé Play (a video streaming platform). Kwesé subscribers who have already paid their subscriptions for the month of November, or in advance, have been assured of a refund.
According to Econet, this will see the reduction of third-party channels available on the bouquet as well as the removal of Kwesé Branded Sport and general entertainment content.
The lack of financial muscle to battle with the big players in the industry such as DSTV may have resulted in this change in business model. Recall that Nigerian TSTV, another satellite TV platform is still a mirage.
Joe Hundah, Group President and Chief Executive of Econet Media, noted that the business’ repositioning is perfectly timed in response to market trends.
“We believe these changes will safeguard the future success of our business as we continue to make an indelible impact on Africa’s media industry. The revised business strategy will also ensure that Kwesé TV continues to remain competitive within the industry.
“Refocusing our business offering across markets is a strategic move which aligns our business to OTT and video-on-demand trends which present significant growth opportunities for Kwesé.
“This renewed focus on digital services will see us providing new compelling offers for our customer’s enjoyment.”
A move towards Digital mobile entertainment services
Focusing on original content & distributing on its Video-On-Demand (VoD) platform, iflix & Kwese Play will require a lot of patience as there are already big players like Netflix, Iroko Tv, Afrinolly, Linda Ikeji TV and the likes in that segment.
Kwesé has built a satellite TV business across 27 countries, delivered the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia across Africa to a network of 115 sub-license broadcasters across 37 countries – reaching over 200 million households.