Econet’s Kwese TV enter Uganda’s competitive pay-TV industry

Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | Zimbabwe’s pay TV service provider, Kwese TV, has become the latest kid on the bloc in the provision of satellite Tv services in Uganda, with the official launch held in Kampala on Oct. 17.

The firm will now tussle out with the established pay-TV providers such as Multichoice’s Gotv and Dstv of South Africa and Star Times from China for a pie of the market share.

Kwese TV plans to rely on the innovative flexible payment model and premium programming to penetrate the competitive market.

“Kwese’s appeal is not only its world-class content but also its innovative payment model which has never been adopted in this market,” said Herbert Mucunguzi, the general manager, Kwese TV Uganda.

“At Kwese, we believe that world class content needs to be accessible to audiences not only through multiple platforms but also at affordable prices.”

Kwese’s TV will offer pay-as-you-view service that enables viewers to purchase three days or a week to its full bouquet to fit viewer’s lifestyle and budget.

The firm will offer a full kit at Shs 143,000 including one month subscription and free installation, Shs 106,000 for a premium monthly subscription and Shs 32,000 and Shs 17,000 premium subscriptions for seven days and three days, respectively,  for 66 channels.

The pricing, however, are slightly higher compared with those being offered by the rivals.

For instance, StarTimes charges Shs6, 000 for its Nova bouget that consists mainly of local and 10 international channels, Shs16, 500 and Shs 33,000 for the Basic and Classic bougets that consists of 40 and 61 channels, respectively.

On the other hand,   Azam TV charges 37,000 for the Azam Play bouget with over 93 channels while Azam Plus and Azam Pure bouquets goes for Shs 25,000 and Shs12, 500 for 73 and 35 channels, respectively.

Kwese TV, is a subsidiary of Econet Media, which is also owned by the global network group founded by the Executive Chairman Strive Masiyiwa.

Focused on providing premium, Kwese products offers sports, music, movies, series, kids, lifestyle, news among others and it has operations in Ghana, Rwanda, Botswana and Zambia.