TV or OTT in Africa: why choose when you can have both?

From left to right: Trisha Pillay - Daniel Courtenay - Joel Thuto - Merlin Naicker - Christoph Limmer On stage, Christoph Limmer - Senior Vice President at Eutelsat, Daniel Coutenay - Executive Head DStv Stream for Multichoice, Joel Thuto - General Manager of Botswana Television and Merlin Naicker - Group Executive Video Entertainment at SABC debated the future of television and OTT in sub-Saharan Africa. “Linear TV is still growing” stated Merlin Naicker during the latest edition of Nextv Series Africa in October 2023. While the strong rise of OTT might have led some to believe that traditional linear TV would lose ground in Sub-Saharan Africa, all the speakers agree that linear television is not doomed to disappear. Thus, how are TV and OTT evolving and co-existing in SSA and what are the expectations for the future? State of the TV market in SSA: the combination of satellite and terrestrial In the region as a whole, all consumption of content is growing. Although linear TV remains a popular way of consuming content, the transition to DTT and the analog switch off has weakened the model in some countries. Pressure imposed by the ITU deadline has sometimes led some countries to cut the signal before terrestrial coverage is complete. “At SABC, we saw a decline of 20% of our reach into the 5 provinces that have switched off and we’ve got four more provinces to go” points out Merlin Naicker. The digital transition is not only costly, but it also needs time to set up the necessary infrastructure and provide users with the right equipment. Therefore, satellite remains important when it comes to linear television. Christoph Limmer, Senior Vice President of Eutelsat, believes that “there are not lots of countries, globally, where you can reach 100% of the population only with the terrestrial”. As a satellite operator, for 15 years, they “have been providing a hybrid solution: roll up the terrestrial signal to a certain point and complement it with the satellite.” Indeed, what emerged from the panel Redefining broadcaster partnerships for the streaming age, was that satellites appear to be the easiest solution for providing a television signal to the entire population. They overcome the main obstacle involved in a region like sub-Saharan Africa: remote areas with difficult landscapes where it becomes too expensive to set up cables, terrestrial networks and internet infrastructure. Through satellites, operators can deliver a wider coverage at a lower cost, not only in terms of infrastructure but also in terms of equipment for the local population. Traditional TV and OTT to co-exist over the years And yet, everyone agrees that OTT is gaining ground. Indeed, Joel explains that “the audience needs content but they consume...