The strategy review will see Africa\u2019s leading multiplatform broadcast network focus on three core services; Kwes\u00e9 Free Sports (KFS), Africa\u2019s largest free-to-air TV service, Kwes\u00e9 iflix, Africa\u2019s leading mobile video-on-demand sports and entertainment platform and Kwes\u00e9 Play, a leading-edge video streaming service with more than 200 sports, entertainment, kids and news channels including Red Bull TV, NBA, YouTube, TED, and Bloomberg.<\/p>\n
With increased focus on these three services, Econet Media will streamline its direct-to-home satellite television service. This will see the reduction of third party channels available on the bouquet, as well as the removal of Kwes\u00e9 branded sports (excluding KFS) and general entertainment channels. The broadcaster\u2019s new bouquet will carry FTA, religious, and free news channels which will be available to viewers for a minimal fee, as the broadcaster will waive monthly subscription fees. Kwes\u00e9 subscribers who have already paid their subscriptions for the month of November, or in advance, will receive a full refund.<\/p>\n
Kwes\u00e9 was launched at a time when the global pay television industry was in transition. Business models were evolving from traditional content rights linked to linear broadcast channels, to premium content rights moving towards digital media platforms.<\/p>\n
Kwes\u00e9 has built a satellite TV business with presence in 11 markets, a free-to-air business across 27 countries, delivered the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM across Africa to a network of 115 sub-license broadcasters across 37 countries \u2013 reaching over 200 million households, acquired a controlling stake in a leading mobile video-on-demand service, and launched its own OTT service Kwes\u00e9 Play. The business has also managed to secure leading sports rights and general entertainment channels to build a compelling content offering across its platforms, making a significant shift in the continent\u2019s complex and competitive media industry.<\/p>\n
Having recognized the importance of carrying original local content, Econet Media will also establish its own content creation hub, Kwes\u00e9 Studios. Through Kwes\u00e9 Studios, Econet Media will invest in developing its own original programming and provide a platform for African producers, scriptwriters, actors, and directors to tell authentic African stories on a pan-African broadcast network.<\/p>\n
These changes are in keeping with Kwes\u00e9\u2019s commitment to providing affordable premium content, maintaining an innovative approach to content delivery and being attuned to audience viewing and purchasing habits.<\/p>\n
As a consequence of the revised business model, Econet Media is reviewing its operational structures across all markets where Kwes\u00e9 TV has a presence which may result in changes to the company\u2019s various business units.<\/p>\n
Joe Hundah, Group President and Chief Executive of Econet Media, says the business\u2019 repositioning is perfectly timed in response to market trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a bid to maintain its position as a leader in broadcasting innovations in Africa, Econet Media has reviewed its business strategy and service offerings, aligning them to the global digital and satellite broadcasting sector trends so to maximize growth on the continent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-38448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38448"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=38448"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=38448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}