The African Foray

When Michael Jackson crooned Nakupenda pia, nakutaka pia, mpenzi we (I love you, I want you, my dear) in ‘The Liberian Girl’, it sounded like Greek and Latin. It was actually Swahili, the most spoken African language. Jackson’s usage of African dialect is not an isolated case. In the 1994 Disney movie, The Lion King, the protagonist is named Simba, Swahili for lion.

Although Swahili as a language finds mention in arts, songs, cinema, theatre and television programmes the world over, what’s appalling is that Africans don’t yet have a regional satellite television channel. There are a few channels beaming local content in Africa, but being terrestrial channels their reach is limited. And this is where TV9 fills the gap.

Channels such as Doordarshan, Sony and Zee TV have ventured into Africa long ago and are broadcasting programmes in English and Hindi primarily for the Indians staying there.

But why Africa? “It is a market waiting to be tapped. We discovered the potential in Andhra Pradesh and met with success. Now, we have a larger target: Africa,” reasons Clifford Pereira, head (sales and marketing), ABCL. “Viewers in African countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Somalia are deprived of television content,” says Prakash. For instance, direct-to-home services costs about $4 in India but in Africa it is as high as $75. This is because cable penetration is very low, and as a result, entertainment services through television can be accessed by a select few.

“We want to replicate the Indian CAS (conditional access system) model in Africa. This is going to be the future model of television viewing,” explains M.K.V.N. Murthy, vice-president (operations), ABCL. “We plan to lay optic fibre and establish seamless connectivity across regions.”

For this to fructify, TV9 is in dialogue with other broadcasters and networking solutions providers. All in all, the project would require Rs 200 crore investment and at least three years of preparation. “We may float a different company altogether, which will have new investors. The modalities will be finalised in the next couple of months,” explains Prakash.

Surely, there must be very good reasons why other global or Indian companies have not attempted a full-fledged presence in Africa. So why is ABCL risking its happy position in one state for a bet on Africa? Retorts Prakash: “We are thinking ahead of time. Even before the domestic market saturates and players start looking for avenues outside, we intend to identify opportunities where we can have a large role to play.”

Growth is an imperative. The question is will these bets work? Till about three years ago, TV18 was under Rs 50 crore in size with a channel and a portal. Now, high on market cap, interesting launches and acquisitions, the company has hit a respectable Rs 159 crore, three times its revenues. So, if these bets work, ABCL would hit Rs 300 crore in revenues by 2010. If not, it will remain a one-channel wonder and a great acquisition target.

1 | 2