China's StarTimes satellite pay-TV operator active in Africa on Monday launch the new Rembo TV channel in East Africa to boost local TV content production in Kenya and announced that it will invest $1.93 million in creating local content for the channel.
So far little has come of StarTimes' former promises to create a massive new studio complex in Kenya where the Chinese operator is primarily competing with MultiChoice's DStv and the Wananchi Group's Zuku.
Andy Wang, StarTimes Kenya CEO at the media launch held on Monday in Nairobi, Kenya said StarTimes will be investing $1.93 million (R288.4 million) to create content for the Rembo TV channel and will be working with 30 content developers in Kenya.
"The company has responded to the growing appeal for authentic Kenyan content that subscribers can easily relate with as it rolls out exciting fresh shows that are expected to sustain the channel's subscriber appeal moving forward".
"Our investment in Rembo TV is a statement of our long term commitment to the Kenyan market. As the 24-hour channel goes live, we intend to be home of uninterrupted entertainment attending to our subscriber demand for reality TV shows".
Rembo TV as a general entertainment channel will target a female viewership with mostly reality shows and broadcast in 60% Kiswahili, 30% English and 10% in other vernacular languages.
Rembo TV will be available in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda across all StarTimes bouquets.
"For the longest time we know what the content journey has been like for local producers," said a StarTimes Kenya executive.
"That particular journey has always been the producer comes to us and they sell content. After they sell content, they go home. And then they wait for the next cycle where they come up with a new show, and then they still bring it back to us."
"Now this model has not necessarily worked in favour of the producer. What we've now decided to do is to actually take the producer and make them run the channel. Now that's a completely different business model," StarTimes Kenya said.
