The year: 2007. His name: Toyin Subair. The company: HiTV. The mission: upstage South African owned cable television, DSTV. The outcome: epic failure.
Earlier today, we reported about the imminent entry of a new cable television: TStv. The platform owned by Telcomsat Limited is set to give DSTV a run for its money.
Wondering how they intend to do this? Quality service delivery at a cut-throat price.
[Read Also] The Thread: 3 reasons why you should be squeamish about TSTV
Just like HiTV, TStv is running on a Pay Per View system, meaning subscribers will have to pay for only what they watch.
Speaking on its plan to provide Direct-to-Home (DTH), Bright Echefu, the Managing Director/CEO of TSTV, said:
“TSTV is providing a groundbreaking option from a dominated marketplace… Our vision is to provide premium video experience to Nigerians at affordable prices. Our services will enable the viewers to experience HD and SD video and internet surfing at the same time. We are the first indigenous local operator in the region to launch such a premium platform with a variety of services to Nigerians, who have been so far paying exorbitant prices to foreign operators.”
With such an audacious statement, TStv has put itself on the spot. Media observers will definitely be on the lookout.
Catch up here: The Media Blog: TStv, the new cable TV that seeks to give Nigerians independence
HiTV was revolutionary with its entry into the market. It performed a coup on DSTV when it won the broadcast rights to air the English Premier League. Not long after, DSTV regained the rights, but not after it had expanded its tentacles to other ventures other than football, which was its flagship offering at the time.
TStv has generated a lot of buzz on social media, especially on Twitter, but businesses are not run on social media, they are run in the boardroom, and this is one of the lessons, Subair learned, spurring him to publish an article on the reasons the company failed.
Currently, DSTV is boring holes into the pocket of some Nigerians with its outrageous subscription fees. TStv could capitalise on this situation as its premium package goes for N3000 only monthly, almost five times less than DSTV’s at N14700.
Nigeria has at the moment at least eight cable platforms (remember the failed Daarsat and Consat) and none has been able to dislodge DSTV, will TStv be the one, or will it go the way of HiTV?
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