AfricaCast 2011: Only a small really viable number of pay TV operators exist across Africa; IPTV on the continent still some way off.

Out of about 50 pay TV operators across the entire Africa, only MultiChoice and a few Chinese backed pay TV operators really have a viable number of subscribers - and a viable enough business model to not only command enough attention from the rest of the world, but also to be able to bring a set of affordable services, options and offerings to customers on a sustainable basis.

That's the expert opinion from the think tank at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit that kicked off today in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference. The event is being attended by 6 500 delegates from 48 African countries, which is now making this conference pan-Africa's biggest event looking at the continent's communications market and entire telecoms, media and ICT ecosystem.

AfricaCast 2011 delegates heard today that IPTV on the African continent is still some way off. IPTV haven't picked up yet as has happened elsewhere in the world. Mobile TV is starting to make major inroads but there is a lot of room for growth - as is the case with online TV.