The virtuous circle of pay TV and why many pay TV operators in Africa fail: the quality TV channels you have on there together is very important.

Content and quality TV content is the main driver of pay TV. Pay TV operators in Africa have to make sure that they collect the very best TV channels they can possibly find and add on their pay TV platform, since a value pack of worthy TV content is the only thing that will persuade a TV viewer to pay for subscription television.

So says Christoph Limmer, the senior director for market development in Africa at satellite provider SES. SES provides satellite services and capacity for pay TV operators across Africa, such as TopTV in South Africa. He was speaking at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit in Cape Town that is part of the 14th AfricaCom conference.

Christoph Limmer said pay TV operators in Africa fail because they don't have attractive enough bouquets of channels that offer a collective value of quality content to viewers. Pay TV operators fail to successfully create and maintain what is called ''the virtuous circle'': a quality line-up of TV channels offered to consumers, consumers who see it as value which leads to a growing subscribers base, and which in turn attracts more and better TV channels who want to be a part of the platform.

''Pay TV subscribers and consumers select satellite television and a pay TV service based on the content, so the content neighbourhood is very, very, very important,'' said Christoph Limmer.

''The content you have on your satellite television and your subscription television - your neighbourhood - the channels you have on there together is very important. It drives the market take-up. If you have the right content, you can market it to consumers. If you have attractive content, you can market it. If your TV channels are not perceived to be attractive and desirable, you will not be successful in driving TV household uptake no matter what your subscription model. Consumers will not take it,'' he said.

''But if you have attractive content, you create a situation where more and more homes want to be connected to your service. The more homes that are connected, the more attractive the satellite TV service become for other channels, so that at the end of the day, channels want to be on your platform. It's the virtuous circle of pay TV.''

''Once you have managed to successfully kick-start this intricate pay TV ecosystem, you can create a wonderful system for everyone - broadcasters on the one side, and consumers on the other side. The more popular your pay TV offering and service is, the more TV channels will request and want to be part of it which creates value for everyone,'' said Christoph Limmer.

Digital television migration in Africa is - and will continue to be driven - through pay television across the continent.

The important switch to digital television in Africa and the uptake under ordinary consumers of digital TV is, and will remain driven by pay TV and subscription television services across the continent.

So says Christoph Limmer, the senior director for market development in Africa at SES, the European satellite provider that provides satellite services and capacity to pay TV operators across Africa, such as TopTV in South Africa. He was speaking at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit in Cape Town that is part of the 14th AfricaCom conference.

''In Africa it's mainly pay TV and subscription-based television through direct-to-home (DTH) satellite that is driving the uptake of digital television. In the future digital television in Africa will definitely be driven through pay television,'' he said.

''In Abuja for instance the trend has become for consumers to have not just one but two pay TV services. I've never seen so many satellite dishes on rooftops in my life,'' he said.

How many TV households in Africa and in your African country? Most African TV markets can't answer this crucial question.

How many TV households in Africa? How many homes with television in your country?

Most African countries are unable to answer this question and are not able to give a definitive, clear and accurate answer. Since TV households are the currency to determine viewership which again helps to set advertising rates, that is one of the biggest reasons why Africa's TV market is lagging behind the rest of the world.

''It's very difficult - and I'm sure I'm not the only one here - to find out how many TV households we have in Africa. The majority of African TV markets can't answer this question,'' says Christoph Limmer, the senior director for market development Africa at satellite provider SES. He was speaking at the AfricaCast 2011 TV summit in Cape Town as part of the 14th AfricaCom conference. SES provides satellite services for multiple pay TV operators across Africa, such as TopTV in South Africa.

''We conduct a lot of research to try and find figures for TV households that are accurate and trustworthy. We have devised methodologies, successfully used in Europe, and now applied to Africa, to find out how many TV homes there is in a country.''

''This is very important because in a country like Nigeria for instance, you will get a figure ranging from 7 million to 16 million. What is the right number? For advertiser-based broadcasting, advertisers and broadcasters want to know exactly how many people they're dealing with; how many TV households?''

Christoph Limmer said that Africa now has about 81,6 million TV households in total.