AfricaCast 2011: The 'schizophrenic' market for pay TV operators in Africa hampered by excessive regulation, price, and lack of infrastructure.

Africa's pay television market is still a ''schizophrenic environment'', hampered by excessive regulation, price sensitivity and lack of infrastructure.

So says MultiChoice, the biggest pay TV operator on the African continent. ''There is a groundswell of an emerging market who suddenly has the disposable income to spend on services like pay TV and mobile services. That's one thing. The other thing is about trying to extend the sophisticated services on the top end of the tier,'' said Chris Oberholzer, the head of strategy and development at the South African satellite broadcaster MultiChoice.

Chris Oberholzer was speaking as part of a panel discussion on the new competitive environment in Africa's broadcasting markets at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference. When asked about what he perceived to be the biggest barriers for new entrants he said ''the barrier to entry for new pay TV entrants are regulations – excessive regulation, price sensitivity and a lack of infrastructure in countries and that can mean many things.''

Manelisa Mavuso, the managing director for consumer services and retail at Telkom SA said that barriers like ''the issues around rights management, particularly around high-end content, and the cost of the content'' also exist. ''There is, and should be, more content available than Hollywood blockbusters for Africa.''

''Many people in Africa are getting TV for the first time,'' said Jason Lobel, the regional director for Africa for NDS. ''There is actually a television arms race going on to see who can get to all of these people first,'' he said.

''We haven't quite mastered how to position ourselves,'' said Chris Oberholzer, talking on behalf of all pay TV operators and the best strategies to capture these viewers, ''because of this fragmented market''. ''There's such an increasing demand for different things and interactivity requirements. It's very difficult to say: There it is: Those common denominators can serve the highest demand. I think what people are forgetting is that their current TV experience is not an interactive one because there isn't a connected TV set.''

''Until there is really connected TVs and connected set top boxes (STBs) none of these interactive services are technological practical. They are costly and they are not mainstream. Interactivity for television really belongs to something that's connected.''

AfricaCast 2011: MultiChoice warns: South Africa's end-2013 cut-off date for the switch-over to digital terrestrial television 'is a bridge too far'.

South Africa's satellite pay TV operator MultiChoice has a warning for the South African government's lofty, ambitious and aggressive switch-over target to digital television, saying today that South Africa's digital terrestrial television (DTT) date target is a ''stretch'' and citing how even European nations with a much more developed TV market took much longer to execute and complete the switch - with mixed results so far.

Earlier this year the South African government adjusted and has now set the end of 2013 by which it wants to complete South Africa's transition from analogue broadcasting to digital television broadcasting, a process known as digital migration. This long-delayed switch-over will affect all of South Africa's estimated 29,3 million TV households.

Chris Oberholzer, the head of strategy and development at the South African satellite broadcaster MultiChoice today called South Africa's cut-off date ''aggressive'' and ''far stretched''. He was speaking today at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit that kicked off today in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference.

He referenced in detail a case study of DTT in France, a European nation with a well-developed television broadcasting architecture, infrastructure and consumer TV market. Chris Oberholzer illustrated how difficult and intricate it was for France to make the switch to digital television, the surprising problems encountered, and how the digital migration process took even France much, much longer.

''South Africa is being very aggressive about our digital terrestrial television (DTT) migration,'' he told delegates from across Africa. ''We [South Africa] believe that we can switch of analogue broadcasts by 2013. That belief is rather far stretched and a bridge too far.''

ALSO READ: AfricaCast 2011: Despite a lack of infrastructure, the consumer is the big winner as Africa's TV market experience rapid growth and change.

AfricaCast 2011: Each with their own nuances, Africa's broadcasting regulators present varied challenges for pay TV operators.

Pay TV operators across Africa have to contend with a myriad of regulators, intricate regulatory frameworks that differ from country to country, and regulators who often move and react so slowly that they're often hampering growth in television broadcasting markets across the continent.

So how do pay TV operators in Africa deal effectively with regulators that differ from country to country and navigate this complex relationship?

At the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit that kicked off today in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference, I asked Chris Oberholzer, the head of strategy and development at the South African satellite broadcaster MultiChoice, how pay TV companies in Africa feel about, and how they see, the complex relationship with regulators across the continent who make the rules that they eventually have to follow.

''When it comes to regulation and regulators in Africa's TV market, each television market's got its own nuances, it's own regulators and it's own regulatory agenda,'' said Chris Oberholzer who was one of the speakers at AfricaCast 2011 today.

''If we look at just South Africa, we haven't been able to come up with a policy around set top box (STB) control for digital television at this stage yet. From a regulatory point of view it's very difficult to navigate that area. But having said that, ultimately the environments that make structural development a regulatory priority will be the winners.''

AfricaCast 2011: A growing demand for services from pay TV operators in Africa, as consumers want content on a specific device when they want it.

When it comes to pay television in Africa, consumers and subscribers are becoming more discerning when it comes to real value-added services (or so-called VAS).

That means that pay TV operators in Africa will increasingly have to meet the customer and subscriber not just where they're at - but on the device they're at.

''There is a growing demand for those real value-added services and the expectation will become that consumers as we know, want what content they want on a specific device that suit them, through whatever distribution mechanism to satisfy that need through connected services.'' So says Chris Oberholzer, the head of strategy and development at the South African satellite broadcaster MultiChoice. He was speaking today at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit that kicked off today in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference.

''We need to serve them [subscribers] with the right stuff on the specific platforms that they want to consume it,'' he said. ''The use of these hybrid or blended solutions is the way to offer these comprehensive services. This is not going to be an 'either or' world. We see it very much as a complimentary environment.''

''So what is our strategy for an increasingly convergent environment? We believe that we need to be available on multiple platforms to serve the customer's needs wherever they are. DStv Mobile has been very successful in launching the DVB-H product and the mobile product - not only for handsets but also the DStv Drifta. We need to service the customer's needs with a seamless operation so that the customer and subscriber don't have to search [elsewhere] for compelling content,'' said Chris Oberholzer.

AfricaCast 2011: Despite a lack of infrastructure, the consumer is the big winner as Africa's TV market experience rapid growth and change.

When it comes to Africa's television market, including pay satellite television and the migration to digital television, the winds of change are sweeping across Africa.

The broadcasting landscape - although struggling and hampered by fragmented infrastructure - is changing massively, and the biggest winner is the consumer.

So says Chris Oberholzer, the head of strategy and development at the South African satellite broadcaster MultiChoice. He was speaking today at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit that kicked off today in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference.

''Foreign direct investment, the real interest that's being shown in Africa is leading to an upliftment - a resurgence in Africa's television market,'' Chris Oberholzer said.

''The broadcast landscape in Africa is changing. We've got significantly more TV platforms, we've got digital migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT), there's an increased focus on fibre capacity - both sub-marine and terrestrial - and there is a strong change where previously broadcasting was restricted to terrestrial networks and direct-to-home (DTH) for pay TV but now many new entrants coming in.''

''This growth is all good news for the consumer. It means multi-channel, mass market access and very point-specific solutions where the consumer wins.''

''We're seeing many regional broadcasters offering local content, local content that's very compelling,'' said Chris Oberholzer. ''IPTV and DTT is expected to become an ever-increasing part of the mix of television in Africa. As these markets mature, obviously, we expect it to take a greater market share.''

''Many of our markets in Africa however struggle with infrastructure. Infrastructure is spotty, it's fragmented. We have pockets of high-capacity across the continent - specifically in big metropolitan areas - but we have many fragmented operators. There's also very diverse environments, diverse regulatory environments each with their own sets of issues. So it's a tricky environment to navigate,'' he said.

''With these two world's approaching each other - the IPTV and the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV world - the key to note is that the Americas are flattening out and is getting saturated from a satellite television point of view. The eyeballs are still increasing in the Americas - people are watching more TV - but it's across a wider mix. In contrast the Asia Pacific and Africa territories show very strong growth and are now leading the charge.''