#tbt : In 2018, Two years after it first launched, Kwese TV, the pay TV service owned by telecoms giant Econet, shut down its subscriptions model and is cutting off expensive third-party channels

In the two years it operated, Kwese TV garnered tens of thousands of subscribers across more than 12 African countries but likely never got anywhere close enough to DStv which has over 13.5 million subscribers across Africa, with 7 million in South Africa alone

Kwese TV’s change of tack is a reminder of just how difficult winning significant pay TV market share is in a space dominated by DStv, the satellite service owned by MultiChoice, an arm of South African media giant, Naspers. Having had a two-decade head-start on most of its competitors, DStv maintains a strong hold on exclusive broadcast rights to the most watched soccer leagues in Africa, including the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, UEFA Champions League and Italian Serie A. But while soccer is a major attraction, DStv also spends heavily on entertainment content: it has invested millions of dollars in original local content, especially the popular Nollywood, through its Africa Magic channels.

For its part, Kwese attempted to pry market share from DStv by offering exclusive NBA and NFL sports content as well as less popular soccer leagues, but ultimately, it has proven inadequate. The economics of the pay TV business means unless entrants quickly win subscribers and gain significant cash-flow, maintaining expensive broadcast rights become difficult: Kwese TV has reportedly missed multiple payments on broadcast deals since last year. It’s a recurring failing for many of DStv’s challengers.

Dandaro, throwback thursday, Zimbabwe, Kwese TV