Better times ahead as pay TV competition intensifies

COMPETITION AMONG the pay TV providers is expected to get tighter as more players enter the market. This in turn will lead to improvement in the quality of services, which for a long time have been substandard. The latest entrant in a market previously dominated by Chinese firm StarTimes, and DStv, is GOtv, a subsidiary of MultiChoice South Africa. Viewers are headed for better television services, as the competition takes shape. The competition means that only TV service providers that will be able to innovate and come up with better programming will survive and grow their viewership. It may also mean that competition in the long run will force the competitors to cut on their subscription charges which are still out of reach for the majority of Rwandans. At the end of the day, viewers or customers are the biggest beneficiaries of this milestone. This development is even more critical, following the switch-off of analogue transmission in Kigali last week as the government moves to implement digital migration across the country. The mad rush for set top boxes and decoders as viewers take to the digital platform is an indicator that the future of the digital broadcasting industry is bright. The analogue switch-off, which was effected Friday night marks a critical turn in the country’s broadcasting industry. The broadcasting industry will never be the same. TV service providers should take advantage of these developments to provide good quality services to satisfy the growing number of television viewers. The mushrooming advertising industry is another area where the broadcasting service providers could target but after building a critical mass of viewership.

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Better times ahead as pay TV competition intensifies