Star Times reduces pay TV costs

In comparison, MultiChoice Uganda, the market leader, charges US$158 for about 30 channels, for its cheapest start-up kit. Monthly subscriptions for its DSTV bouquets range from US$10.8 to US$76 compared with Star's monthly subscription of between US$7 and US$11.

Targeting 100,000 customers

Kevin Chen, chief marketing officer at Star Times, said the move is aimed at attracting more customers to the service with operations in Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. "This is a promotion aimed at enabling more customers to enjoy digital TV," he said.

Since it started its operations in Uganda last year, Chen said the company has been able to net over 30,000 pay television customers. However, the company is targeting up to 100,000 customers by the end of 2010. Star DTV Uganda is part of the Star Group of Companies in China with at least seven million digital TV subscribers in Asia. With 20 years in the industry, the company is seeking to replicate its Asian success in Africa opening up subsidiaries in emerging markets.

Help with switchover to digital

In Uganda, Chen said the company has committed itself to help the government switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting television by 2010, in line with the International Telecommunications Union requirements. "We want to help the government to move over very quickly," he said in an interview on Tuesday, 2 November 2010.

MultiChoice remains the popular service because of the English Premier League and a variety of movie channels which are on high demand on the continent. While it is very competitive on content its entry prices remain higher than those of competitors in the region. Competition is set move a notch higher when a new pay television service provider unveils its services later this year. The new firm is still under wraps but is recruiting distributors of its products and services across the country.